“The day I was disqualified, I died as an athlete,” says Dadas Dadashbayli, who, along with a majority of the 11 Azerbaijani athletes at the 2015 World Weightlifting Championships, failed an in-competition drug test. Dadashbayli was suspended for four years.
In a moment of transparency, Dadashbayli discussed drug abuse in weightlifting and why he feels he’s been given a “second chance” to make it to the Olympics.
Drug Abuse in Weightlifting
Dadashbayli spoke candidly with Azerbaijani press in January about his suspension: “At seventeen or eighteen [years old], an athlete doesn’t know what doping is. The foreign head coach is the one who gave it to us.”
Dadashbayli’s coach at the time was likely former Bulgarian athlete (and Ivan Abadjiev acolyte) Zlatan Vanev. In 2014, the Azerbaijani weightlifting federation faced a team-wide ban after nine athletes were identified for drug abuse one year prior.
- Going Deeper: In 2019, head of the Azerbaijani anti-doping agency Shafag Huseynli remarked that, “The spread of anabolic steroids among young people is especially disturbing.” As of March, only one Azerbaijani weightlifter, Valentin Hristov, has an active suspension for drug abuse. Hristov hasn’t competed on an IWF stage since 2015.
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The IWF instead opted to levy a fine of $500,000, in order to “maintain its policy not to punish innocent athletes.” Dadashbayli was not named among the nine athletes identified by the IWF in '14.
Dadashbayli continued, saying, “I was upset with everyone, except the barbell … I was counting the hours until my disqualification ended."
"The next day I entered the gym and shouted that I was free. I was not a prisoner anymore.”
- Steps Forward: The Azerbaijani anti-doping agency, AMADA, did not exist when Dadashbayli’s drug abuse suspension began. The organization, created in 2016, has celebrated “tangible results” from its “robust anti-doping policies.”
Dadashbayli: The Comeback Kid
Prior to his hiatus from weightlifting, Dadashbayli was one of Europe’s most promising light-heavyweight competitors. In training, Dadashbayli had thrown up bests in the snatch and clean & jerk of at least 191 and 230 kilograms.
While he’s yet to match his gym bests on the competition platform, Dadashbayli is on something of a hot streak, having made it to the 109-kilogram podium at his last five meets in a row:
- 2024 World Weightlifting Championships: 404KG (183/221) | Silver
- 2024 IWF World Cup: 388KG (177/211) | Silver
- 2024 European Weightlifting Championships: 388KG (176/212) | Gold
- 2023 IWF Grand Prix II: 388KG (176/212) | Gold
- 2023 World Weightlifting Championships: 403KG (180/223) | Bronze
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Tall and long-limbed for a weightlifter, Dadashbayli regardless displays impressive technical competence and an abundance of strength. Dadashbayli has maintained a steady 73% success rate across his last 30 competition lifts.
Five years on from his readmittance to weightlifting, Dadashbayli’s drug abuse infraction still weighs on him. “I think I have forgiven them,” he said, referring to authority figures within his federation. “But I’m not sure. Maybe it was just my fate.”
- You Should Know: The IWF, in partnership with the International Testing Agency, have made significant strides in anti-doping controls in the decade since Dadashbayli was sanctioned. Between 2022 and 2023, the number of drug-related sanctions to weightlifters fell approximately 70%.
Looking forward, he’s optimistic — Dadashbayli missed out on the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 after his federation failed to meet certain qualification deadlines. He wasn’t seen at the 2024 Games, either; Azerbaijan didn't send any weightlifters to Paris. But Los Angeles looks to be a different story.
“I’ll be 31 in 2028,” Dadashbayli remarked. “If Ruslan Nurudinov can break a world record in my category at 34, why can’t Dadas Dadashbayli win a medal at the Olympics?”
