Russian lifter quits Olympics
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E-mail Xinhua, August 4, 2012
Russian weightlifter Dmitry Klokov has withdrawn from the London Olympics for medical reasons, Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said Saturday.
The 29-year-old athlete, set to compete in Monday's 105 kg category, would not join the battle due to unspecified medical reasons, Mutko said, without giving further information.
Klokov became the world champion at the 2005 World Championships with a total of 419 kg, and won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics with a total of 423 kg.
Also on Saturday, another Russian weightlifter in the same category Khadzhimurat Akkaev decided to quit the game due a back injury, the national weightlifting federation told local media.
Sergei Syrtsov, head of Russian weightlifting federation, called Akkaev's withdrawal a "huge blow" to the Russian team, as "another gold medal has escaped us," RIA Novosti news agency quoted the official as saying.
The 27-year-old athlete had an back operation on Aug. 2 and has not been fully recovered from the injury, Syrtsov added.
Akkaev won a silver medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in the 94 kg category and a bronze medal at Beijing Olympics in the same category with a total of 402 kg. He then moved to the 105 kg category and won the 2011 European Weightlifting Championships in Kazan with a total of 425 kg.
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