(ATR) Latvian ice hockey player Vitalijs Pavlovs and Austrian cross-country skier Johannes Duerr are the latest Olympians to run afoul of Olympic anti-doping procedures.
On Sunday, the Austrian Olympic Committee (OOC) said Duerr tested positive for EPO and has been dismissed from the team. EPO became infamous as the drug of choice for professional cyclists during height of the sport’s doping scandal. The blood booster aids in endurance events.
Karl Stoss, president of the OOC, said in a statement they are "shocked by this news." Duerr was scheduled to compete in the men’s 50m cross-country event on Sunday.
In another statement, the IOC said Pavlovs tested positive for methylhexaneamine on Feb. 19. He was kicked out of the Olympic Village and his diploma for finishing 8th was revoked.
The news from Pavlovs and Duerr are the fourth and fifth positive drug tests of the Sochi Olympics.
World Anti-Doping Agency President Craig Reedie tells Around the Rings the news is "disappointing", but adds "we’ll note it and move forward.
"I think we have to realize that as competition gets more intense, regrettably, athletes will be tempted to something that they shouldn't."
The IOC also confirmed Ukranian cross-country skier Marina Lisogor tested positive for trimetazidine.
German biathlete Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle and Italian bobsledder William Frullani are the other Olympians who have failed drug tests at the Games.
Written by Ed Hula III
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