IOC reports two more positive tests

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) -- The IOC is investigating two more positive drug tests from the Salt Lake City Games.

The International Olympic Committee said Friday it was looking into two suspected doping cases from the final days of the games, which ended last Sunday.

One case involves the steroid nandrolone, and the other involves the stimulant methamphetamine.

The IOC declined to identify the athletes or sports involved pending a hearing.

If the tests are confirmed as doping violations, the IOC executive board will disqualify the athletes and strip them of any medals.

IOC medical director Patrick Schamasch said the hearings would likely be held early in the week beginning March 11.

Usually, the IOC deals with positive tests at the Olympics within 36 hours. But since the tests came late in the games and Olympic officials have gone home, the process will take longer.

A similar situation occurred after the 2000 Sydney Olympics. German freestyle wrestler Alexander Leipold was stripped of his gold medal in the 76 kilogram (167 1/2-pound) division, and the medal was awarded to losing American finalist Brandon Slay.

Three confirmed positive cases were recorded during the Salt Lake Games. All involved cross-country skiing medalists who tested positive for darbepoetin, which boosts production of oxygen-rich red blood cells.

Spain's 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-k event. All three kept medals won in earlier races.

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

In addition, the IOC launched an investigation Thursday after blood-transfusion equipment was found in a house used by Austrian cross-country skiers at the games.

The Austrian ski federation claimed Friday the equipment was used for legal medical purposes, an explanation rejected by the IOC.

The IOC said all samples from Salt Lake had now been analyzed and accounted for. A total of 1,960 tests -- 642 in-competition urine tests, 96 out-of-competition urine controls and 1,222 blood screening tests -- were conducted during the games.

The IOC said the figure represents a threefold increase over the 621 tests conducted at the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan.

 

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