BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Discus thrower Zoltan Kovago of Hungary has been banned for two years for a doping offense, forcing him to miss the London Olympics. Kovago was considered a medal contender at the games. He won the silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics. The Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld an appeal filed by athletics' governing body, the IAAF, the Hungarian Olympic Committee said Thursday. Kovago refused to provide a sample to doping officials last year, the committee said. Hungarian doping officials initially cleared Kovago, but the IAAF appealed the decision. Kovago's ban comes shortly after another Hungarian discus thrower, Robert Fazekas, was removed from the Olympic team for testing positive for the banned steroid stanozolol. Fazekas initially won the Olympic title in Athens but was disqualified for a doping offense. Kovago had finished third but was upgraded to the silver-medal position in the standings. The 2004 Olympics gold went to Virgilijus Alekna of Lithuania.
Hungary's Kovago banned 2 years, out of Olympics
Jul. 26 10:14 AM EDT
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FILE- In this Monday, Aug. 29, 2011, file photo, Hungary's Zoltan Kovago makes an attempt in the Men's Discus Throw qualification at the World Athletics Championships in Daegu, South Korea. The Hungarian Athletics Association says discus thrower Zoltan Kovago has been given a two-year ban and will miss the Olympic Games in London after a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The athletics association said Thursday, July 26, 2012, in a statement that CAS upheld an appeal in Kovago’s doping case filed by the International Association of Athletics Federations, the international governing body for the sport. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
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