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First wave of doping hits Rio 2016

Cape Town - After Friday's opening ceremony, it has been revealed that two athletes will be sent home from the Olympic Games due to doping on Saturday.

They come in the form of Cypriot weightlifter Antonis Martasidis, as well as an unconfirmed Greek competitor.

Martasidis, who was scheduled to compete in this years men's under 85kg competition, failed a drug test in Athens on the 25th of July.

Martasidis was informed of his failure, and had his accreditation stripped, just hours after his arrival at the Games.

During a pre-Games testing in Athens, the sample of a Greek competitor also tested positive for unspecified substances.

The Greek newspaper Kathimerini speculated that the athlete is swimmer Theodora Giareni, who has won a silver medal at the the 2013 Mediterranean Games, and competed in London's 2012 Olympics.

Irish boxer Michael O'Reilly became the first athlete to fail a test at this year's Games, although he is thought to still be in Rio, staying in a separate part of the athletes village to his team-mates.

The Irish Examiner stated that O'Reilly has not requested the testing of a B-sample, but has instead chosen to go straight to an appeal.

“The leadership of the Greek Olympic team in Rio announces the positive first sample of a member of the team during drugs testing conducted in early July in Athens,” stated the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC).

“The Hellenic Olympic Committee has requested the testing of every Greek athlete taking part in the Games.

"The specific team member has now left the Olympic Village.”

According to Reuters, the test was conducted on the July 5. Until a B-sample is tested, they are not expected to announce the athlete or the sport.

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