30.01 Drug Test Failure Confirmed for Russian Olympic Biathlete

MOSCOW, January 30 (R-Sport) – A medal contender from Russia’s Sochi Olympic biathlon team, Irina Starykh, is heading home after testing positive for a banned substance, the Russian Biathlon Union said Thursday.

Sprint specialist Starykh, 26, has emerged from obscurity over the last two years to become a leading light in the biathlon World Cup and a medal contender for the February 7-23 Sochi Olympics in Russia.

The RBU's website quoted what the organization said was a letter from Starykh in which she said she had left the national team for an "undetermined period." The Olympic biathlon competition starts February 8.

"I have received a notification [from the International Biathlon Union] in which it is stated that one of my tests gave a positive result," the letter states.

"This news was a major unexpected event for me. Believe me that I respectfully regret that this story is linked with my name. ... I do not have the right or the desire to let down the girls and the whole team."

The letter states that Starykh has asked for her 'B' sample to be assessed, signaling she may fight the doping claims.

Starykh was a prominent junior athlete in the mid-2000s, but missed four years of elite competition before debuting in the World Cup last year. She is sixth in the women's overall World Cup table this season with two individual podium finishes and one relay win.