Izabela Dragneva

Izabela Dragneva-Rifatova (Bulgarian: Изабела Драгнева-Рифатова; born October 1, 1971 in Varna) is a retired weightlifter from Bulgaria, who is best known for being the first female weightlifter to be stripped of her medal and results and disqualified from an Olympic games for cheating.[1] She twice competed for her native country at the Summer Olympics: 2000 (the first year women's weightlifting was contested as an Olympic sport) and 2004. She won the silver medal in the women's – 53 kg division at the 1998 World Weightlifting Championships in Lahti.

Izabela Dragneva

Personal information
Born	(1971-10-01) October 1, 1971 Varna, Bulgaria
Medal record Women’s Weightlifting Representing  Bulgaria Summer Olympic Games Disqualified 2000 Sydney – 48kg World Championships 1991 Donaueschingen – 48 kg 1992 Varna – 48 kg 1994 Istanbul – 50 kg 1995 Guangzhou – 50 kg 1997 Chiang Mai – 50 kg 1998 Lahti – 53 kg 2002 Warsaw – 48 kg European Championships 1991 Varna – 48 kg 1994 Rome – 50 kg 1996 Prague – 50 kg 1997 Sevilla – 50 kg 1998 Riesa – 53 kg 1999 La Coruña – 53 kg 2000 Sofia – 53 kg 2003 Loutraki – 53 kg 2004 Kiev – 48 kg

Dragneva competed in the 48 kg category at the 2000 Summer Olympics where she originally won the gold medal.[1] She was stripped of her gold medal three days later after she tested positive for the banned diuretic furosemide.

Also, because multiple Bulgarian weightlifters tested positive in previous Olympic competitions, the entire Bulgarian weightlifting team was disqualified and sent home from the Games.[2][1] The IWF cited their 'Three Strikes' rule for the disassociation.[1]

Dragneva's disqualification meant that American Tara Nott was awarded the gold medal in the 48 kg class.