Records Fall Amid Drug Scandal

SYDNEY, Australia —  Seven world records tumbled in two hours and, for a while at least, two female powerlifters pulled their sport out of the mire of another drug scandal.

Jianxin Bian of China and Fatma Omar of Egypt on Saturday won the first two gold medals awarded in women’s powerlifting at the Paralympics.

A day after revelations that four powerlifters had failed doping tests, further tarnishing the image of weightlifting after a spate of Olympic scandals, Jianxin and Omar returned the focus to competition with a succession of world record-breaking lifts.

On Saturday, it was announced that Radko Radev of Bulgaria, Aurel Berbec of Romania, Ali Mahmoudkikordkheili of Iran and Russian female lifter Marina Diakonova had been banned from competition for four years after failing doping tests. Later, it was announced that two other powerlifters whose names were not available had failed tests. It is the first drug scandal at the Paralympics since 1992.

Jianxin bettered her world record three times in the 88-pound class, finishing with a lift of 226 pounds.

The defending world-record holder in the 97-pound class, Omar opened by lifting 226 pounds, breaking the record of 220 pounds she set at Dubai in 1998, then improved on that.

She lifted 237 pounds on her third attempt and later 240 pounds.

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Brett Lewis of Los Angeles, who is blind, won a silver in the men’s judo 90kg class. He lost the gold-medal match by an Ippon to Antonio Tenorio da Silva of Brazil.