Retired Russian heavyweight Bilyal Makhov has had his competitive results from 2015 eradicated due to a doping violation, thus potentially paving the way for American Robby Smith to receive a bronze medal from the World Championships.
Makhov, a freestyle star in Russia who had accumulated an impressive series of top-level accolades prior to ’15, entered that year’s World Championships and earned bronze medals in both available wrestling disciplines, becoming the first athlete to achieve such a distinction since Swede Jan Karlsson in ’73.
Summary
— Makhov was found to have committed a doping violation on March 10 of 2015 pursuant to Article 2.2 from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) — “Use or attempted use of a prohibited substance or prohibited method”.
— Makhov’s competitive results from that date until January 27, 2020 are now disqualified. But upon his doping violation, he was not suspended. Sources indicate that Makhov’s doping violation was uncovered amid an investigation by WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) into the intranetwork used by RUSADA (Russian Anti-Doping Agency) known as LIMS (Laboratory Information Management System). Over 200 Russian athletes aside from Makhov have been sanctioned as a byproduct of this investigation since ’23. LIMS was found to have falsified records, engineered a protocol which erased records, and amended positive sample results into negative ones.
— The precise substance for which Makhov tested positive is currently unknown.
— Makhov is listed on the International Testing Agency website for said violation, including the date, of occurrence and with his sanction described as “Disqualification of results”. (Image 1 below.)
— Makhov’s Wikipedia page was updated on Friday evening (sans “bot” or username authorship) to reflect his ’15 results being disqualified. (Image 2 below.)
— Makhov defeated Smith 10-8 in the bronze medal round of the 2015 World Championships (held in September of that year).
Will Robby Smith Be Awarded Bronze?
The sport of wrestling unfortunately has a long history of athletes being stripped of medals and other honors following the discovery of previous doping violations, whether sample results were gleaned from in-competition or out-of-competition testing. In fact, there are many (recent) instances in which wrestlers who had originally been awarded medals from World and Olympic events became subject to retroactive suspensions with their results subsequently nullified and each wrestler beneath them in the standings elevated in placing. Given that Makhov had been credited with a victory over Smith in the bronze medal round at the ’15 Worlds, and with Makhov’s result now disqualified, this seemingly equates to Smith soon being rightfully awarded the bronze medal from the tournament.
But there is an air of caution surrounding the issue, likely in part because news of Makhov’s violation immediately preceded the weekend.
While all of the evidence indeed points to Smith certainly being deserving of having his placement updated to bronze, it has yet to be confirmed that it will happen — this despite, as mentioned, a litany of recent similar cases.
Are there any plausible factors or developments which could stop Smith from receiving ’15 bronze?
The answer is “not likely”. In United World Wrestling’s own Anti-Doping Rules, there does exist a “Statute of Limitations” provision which reads “No anti-doping rule violation proceeding may be commenced against an Athlete or other Person unless he or she has been notified of the anti-doping rule violation as provided in Article 7, or notification has been reasonably attempted, within ten (10) years from the date the violation is asserted to have occurred.” But the statute of limitations appears inapplicable relative to Makhov because all available evidence points towards “fraudulent concealment”, a phrase used to define situations in which data is obscured, destroyed, falsified, or not submitted. Cases which are beholden to fraudulent concealment are not stymied by the statute of limitations, therefore allowing sanctions to proceed when and where necessary. Makhov has already been levied sanctions because his results from ’15 are now disqualified.
It should be noted that the general consensus among those in the United States Greco-Roman wrestling program with knowledge of the situation is one of confidence and optimism with regards to Smith receiving the ’15 World bronze. On Saturday, just as Final X 2025 was beginning in Newark, this platform reached out to USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender to ask if there were any circumstances which might halt Smith from being awarded the bronze. Bender replied, “We will do whatever we can to ensure that the medal is secured.” As one might also imagine, Smith himself is well-aware of the news pertaining to Makhov and is likewise keeping a guarded but hopeful posture. Thus far, Smith has been contacted by Bender, National Team head coach Herb House, and a representative from USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency).
Smith vs. Makhov Recap
There have been and still are a lot of observers who feel that Smith should have been the one who had his hand raised against Makhov after their electric clash nearly ten years ago.
At the ’15 World Championships in Las Vegas, both Makhov and Smith were defeated by legendary 5X Olympic gold medalist Mijain Lopez (Lopez felled Makhov in the first round and Smith in the semifinal). However, the bronze medal match between Smith and Makhov wound up stealing the spotlight for the Greco-Roman portion of the event.
Early in the opening period, Makhov raced out to a 7-0 lead, putting Smith only one point away from a loss via technical superiority; but right before the end of the frame, Smith executed a two-point bodylock, a maneuver which elicited a loud response from the crowd. In the second period, Smith picked up an additional two points and had closed in on a front headlock that was thwarted by Makhov, who reversed on the back-end of the sequence. The American corner soon challenged, believing that Makhov had committed a leg foul, but it was to no avail.
Smith was undaunted following the officials’ no-call and, not long after, he locked the body and put Makhov to his back at the boundary. The Russian was pinned immediately, but no signal arrived due to the referee’s claim that Makhov was too far out of bounds. Smith continued pressing the issue through the remainder of the contest and ultimately dropped a 10-8 decision to finish 5th. Upon the bout’s conclusion, the audience in attendance cheered enthusiastically for Smith, who reciprocated by playfully encouraging them to increase their volume even more. Smith, then a resident athlete at the Olympic and Paralympic Training Center, might not have departed from the ’15 World Championships with bronze, but earlier during the tournament he had qualified 130 kilograms for the US at the Rio Olympics by downing Murat Ramanov (KGZ) in the quarterfinals. Also at this event, Northern Michigan University-National Training Site head coach Andy Bisek earned his second-straight World bronze after a gripping, memorable battle against Saied Abdevali of Iran.
This is a developing story. Please stay tuned for updates.
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