Other events in Baltic States

Estonian weightlifter Mart Seim and his father and coach Alar Seim stand to get a bigger cash award from the government if Russia's Aleksei Lovchev is found guilty of using a banned substance and Seim ascends from bronze to silver in the final rankings of the 2015 International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Weightlifting Championships, informs LETA/BNS.

"Apparently the Estonian Olympic Committee will wait until the result of the test on Lovchev's B sample and the official decision of IWF, and if Seim is given silver instead of bronze the Ministry of Culture will move for giving the athlete and his coach an additional cash award," Silver Meikar, adviser to the Ministry of Culture, told BNS.

The Ministry of Culture has already allocated 24,375 euros to EOC this year to be given as awards to Mart Seim and his coach.

It was announced last week that the Russian weightlifter Aleksey Lovchev, who won gold in the world championships in Houston, failed a doping test. If the B sample corroborates the finding and the Russian's appeal is rejected he will lose the gold medal, which will go to Georgian sportsman Lasha Talakhadze. The silver medal given to Talakhadze after the event would go to Estonia's Seim.

Under rules endorsed by the EOC executive, the winner of a gold medal in the world championships of an Olympic discipline is paid 38,000 euros and the athlete's coach 19,000 euros, the winner of silver and the coach respectively 19,000 euros and 9,500 euros, and the winner or bronze and the coach respectively 13,000 euros and 6,500 euros. The size of the award represents the net payment to the recipient, meaning that the EOC also pays taxes on the awards.

Seim finished in third place in aggregate in the over 105-kilogram weight category in the world championships held at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston at the end of last month.

In snatch, Lovchev claimed the win with 211 kilograms and Talakhadze was second with a lift of 207 kilograms. Gor Minasyan from Armenia elevated 203 kilograms to pick up the bronze. The 25-year-old Estonian cleared a personal best of 185 kilograms in his second attempt and then set a new Estonian record by raising 190 kilograms overhead.

Lovchev topped the clean and jerk podium with 248 kilograms, Seim finished second with a lift of 248 kilograms and Talakhadze was third with 247 kilograms.

Lovchev clinched the world overall title after recording a winning total of 475 kilograms. Talakhadze claimed silver with 454 kilograms and Seim seized the bronze with 438 kilograms.