Roilya Ranaivosoa
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| Full name | Marie Hanitra Roilya Ranaivosoa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 14 November 1990 Curepipe, Mauritius | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 47.96 kg (106 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Country | Mauritius | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Weightlifting | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | National team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| Updated on 30 January 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Marie Hanitra Roilya Ranaivosoa (born 14 November 1990), commonly known as Roilya Ranaivosoa, is a Mauritian weightlifter of Malagasy descent, competing in the 48 kg category and representing Mauritius at international competitions.
She competed at several editions of the World Weightlifting Championships. She participated at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in the 58 kg event.
She represented Mauritius at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. She finished in 11th place in the women's 49 kg event.
She won the silver medal in the women's 49 kg event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham, England. In December 2022, she was elected as member of the IWF Athletes' Commission.
However, her career has been marred by a breach of anti-doping regulations, resulting in her resignation from the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) Athletes' Commission and subsequent sanctions.
Ranaivosoa's involvement in a doping scandal came to light when the International Testing Agency (ITA), responsible for conducting anti-doping procedures for the IWF, charged her with sample swapping and tampering. The alleged offence occurred in 2016, approximately four months before she participated in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, where she finished ninth in the 48-kilogram category. The alleged sample swapping occurred during an out-of-competition control in Romania, where she was undergoing a training camp under the controversial Romanian Coach Urdas Constantin.
Following the charges, Ranaivosoa resigned from the IWF Athletes' Commission.
In December 2024, the ITA ruled and confirmed Ranaivosoa’s three-year suspension after she admitted to her wrongdoing in the doping scandal. As part of the sanctions, all her titles and achievements from 24 March 2016 to 23 March 2019 were annulled. This includes the potential revocation of her prestigious Best Sportswoman of the Year awards for 2018 and 2019, pending further review.
The admission of guilt marked a dramatic fall from grace for the athlete, whose career had once been a source of national pride. The ruling has left a significant turn in Mauritian sports, as one of its most prominent figures now faces the consequences of actions that compromised the integrity of the sport.