Egyptian weightlifter Abeer AbdelRahman told Ahram Online Wednesday she is very happy she now technically qualifies to receive two medals in the last two Olympic Games following the suspension for doping of several medal-holders finished ahead of her in those competitions. "I am so happy and proud, and I thank God for what he is blessing me with," the 24-year-old said. AbdelRahman could be awaiting the bronze medal for her performance in the women's 69kg at the 2008 Beijing Olympics after the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) announced on Wednesday that China's gold medalist Liu Chunghong and bronze medalist Nataliya Davydova of Ukraine had violated anti-doping regulations. "I am happy with my Beijing performance even more than London's because I was too young at the time, just 16 years old," AbdelRahman added. She could also be expecting to be awarded the 2012 London Olympic silver for the 75kg event after the suspension of gold medalist Svetlana Podobedova of Kazakhstan, Russia's silver medalist Natalya Zabolotnaya and Belarus' bronze medalist Iryna Kulesha. "I want to thank my coach in 2008, captain Amr Ramadan, for all his efforts. And I also thank my husband and my parents," the Alexandria-born athlete added. Abeer said that she had doubts about some of her competitors' eligibility in the 2008 and 2012 games, but didn't complain at that time. "It's easy to know who takes hormones and banned substances. You can tell from the way they look and sound," Abeer explained. The news that the medalists would be suspended for doping provided Egypt with its first weightlifting medals since the 1948 games, which were staged in London. Egypt won two Weightlifting medals in the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
