The Court of Arbitration for Sport with headquarters in Lausanne rejected the appeal of canoeist Sergey Tarnovschi and upheld the International Canoeing Federation’s decision whereby the bronze medal was withdrawn and the athlete was suspended for a four-year period. The information was published on the official website of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, IPN reports.

Tarnovschi was penalized by the Federation after he failed the dope test several days after he won the bronze at the Olympic Games of Rio de Janeiro. The results achieved by the athlete after July 8, 2016, when the sample was collected, were annulled.

A native of Ukraine, Sergey Tarnovschi has represented Moldova since 2013. In 2015, he won silver at the World Championship of Milan. Tarnovschi is the third Moldovan sportsman who was stripped of an Olympic medal during the last three years, after Cristina Iovu and Anatolie Caracu.