Pankov facing ban

Belarus hockey player tested positive at Olympics

ZURICH, Switzerland (AP) -- The International Ice Hockey Federation said Wednesday that a Belarus player tested positive for doping after his nation's Olympic bronze medal match against Russia.

The IIHF said in a statement that a first urine sample given by the player following the Feb. 23 game contained the banned steroid nandrolone. The test was carried out by a Salt Lake City laboratory accredited by the International Olympic Committee.

Citing federation policy, the IIHF refused to identify the player "until the test of the B-sample also proves to be positive."

In Belarus, however, the National Olympic Committee spokesman Pyotr Ryabukhin told The Associated Press the accused man was team forward Vasily Pankov.

Ryabukhin denied that banned substances had been supplied by Belarus team officials. "The team doctors said they didn't have such medicines in their medicine bags," he said.

IIHF said its rules state that "a player with a positive result from the A-sample shall be suspended immediately and released to play only if the test of the B-sample proves to be negative."

The ban covers all ice hockey games under the jurisdiction of the IIHF and "will remain in force until the investigation has been completed and a final decision can be taken," said the federation.

Pankov, 29, plays for the German club Augsburg.

Augsburg's manager Karl-Heinz Fliegauf confirmed the case and said Pankov had been suspended with immediate effect by the club. He said he expected the player to be banned for between one and two years.

IIHF said its disciplinary action applies to "the player and not the team for which he performed when the player tested positive."

The low-profile Belarus squad, with only one NHL player, caused a major upset at the Olympic hockey tournament after beating Sweden 4-3 to earn an improbable berth in medal play against Russia. Russia won the bronze medal match 7-2.

Pankov scored goals against France and Finland during the Olympic campaign.

On Tuesday the British Olympic Association said the Scottish skier Alain Baxter had tested positive for the banned stimulant methamphetamine. Baxter failed a doping test after his surprise third-place finish in the slalom at the Salt Lake City Games and could be stripped of his bronze medal.

In other Salt Lake City doping cases, Spain's cross country skier Johann Muehlegg was stripped of his gold in the 50-kilometer race; Russia's Larissa Lazutina lost her gold in the 30-kilometer race; and Russia's Olga Danilova was disqualified from the 30-kilometer event. All three kept medals won in earlier races.

Yulia Pavlovic, a short track speedskater from Belarus, had elevated levels of nandrolone in a urine test but the results were tossed out because of a broken seal on a sample bag.

The International Olympic Committee launched an investigation last week after blood-transfusion equipment was found in a house used by Austrian cross-country skiers at the games.

 

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