Russian biathlete could face 2-year ban

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Russian biathlete Olga Pyleva could face heavy sanction from the International Biathlon Union for her failed drug test.

Failed drug test could lead to end of career for Pyleva, 30

TURIN - Russian biathlete Olga Pyleva, stripped of her silver medal and expelled from the Turin Olympics for drug-taking, will appear before an International Biathlon Union hearing on Friday.

She could face sanctions which may end her career.

The Russian Olympic Committee said Pyleva, who could face a ban of up to two years, would appear at the hearing in person.

“Yes, she is still here in Turin because today at 12 o’clock there will be a disciplinary hearing,” Nikolai Durmanov, head of the anti-doping inspection at the Russian Olympic Committee told Reuters. “Of course, she will be there.”

Pyleva, who won the 15-km individual biathlon silver medal, became the first athlete to be kicked out of the Games following a positive doping test.

A gold medallist in the 10-km pursuit at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, Pyleva tested positive for carphedon, a prohibited stimulant, on Feb. 13 after the women’s 15-km individual biathlon.

The IOC Disciplinary Commission ruled the 30-year-old be disqualified from the event and excluded from the Games with immediate effect.

Pyleva now faces a two-year ban from the IBU, the minimum term demanded by the World Anti-Doping Agency for a drugs offence. The IBU scheduled a hearing for Feb. 17, pending the availability of the athlete.

Durmanov said Pyleva had taken medicine for an injury, not knowing it contained the banned drug carphedon.

Pyleva is also likely to face an Italian investigation.

A senior judicial source said Turin prosecutors will launch an investigation once they had received official notification that a doping violation had been committed.

Reuters Limited.