Russian skiers get life ban from Olympics over alleged doping use

Four Russian cross-country skiers have been banned from participating in the Olympic Games for life over alleged doping, Russia's Cross-Country Ski Federation (CCSFR) said.

Maxim Vylegzhanin, Alexei Petukhov, Yevgeniya Shapovalova and Yulia Ivanova were found guilty of violating anti-doping rules by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) investigative commission led by Denis Oswald, the CCSFR said in a statement on its website on Thursday, reports Xinhua.

The athletes will have their results, achieved during the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, annulled, the statement said.

Vylegzhanin won three silver medals during the Sochi Olympics, while the three other athletes finished the Games without a medal.

Earlier this month, two other Russian skiers, Alexandr Legkov and Evgeny Belov, received lifetime bans from Olympics imposed by the IOC for anti-doping rule violations. Legkov was also deprived of his Sochi Olympic gold and silver medals.

The CCSFR said it will challenge the IOC rule on all the six athletes at the Court of Arbitration for Sport based in Lausanne, Switzerland.

--IANS

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