Four years after the event, Egyptian weight lifter Tarek Yehia (85kg) is expecting a bronze medal from the 2012 London Olympic Games after Russian Apti Aukhadov, who won silver, tested positive for doping.

Aukhadov is among 10 lifters including four gold medalists banned by the International Weight Lifting Federation (IWF) for failing dope tests.

The 29-year-old Yehia had finished fourth after Adrian Zieliński, Aukhadov and Kianoush Rostami, and will now be automatically promoted to third place.

"It is just a matter of time before the International World Federation announces Tarek Yehia as the bronze medalist. They are just waiting for [the completion of] procedures before the official announcement," the Egyptian Weight Lifting Federation chairman, Mahmoud Kamal Mahgoub, told Ahram Online Thursday.

"Yehia deserved the medal. He really worked hard during and before the 2012 Olympics and the medal was clinched with a very slight difference," Mahgoub added.

Yehia starred at Rio by lifting a total of 375 kg, five behind Rostami.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said this month that Olympic medallists from the Beijing and London Games were being targeted as a priority as the reanalysis of old samples was reinforced.

The IOC also said that its budget for anti-doping tests is being doubled to $500,000 (447,000 euros) between now and the August Olympics in Rio.

Egypt is competing for more than a medal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro with nine lifters qualified; six men and three women.

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