Austrian cross-country skier suspended after testing positive for EPO
Austrian cross-country skier Johannes Duerr was suspended for testing positive for EPO, the country's Olympic committee said on Sunday. This is not how Austria wanted to go out on the final day.
"It is a black day for us," Olympic committee president Karl Stoss told reporters in a statement, via The Associated Press.
"We are shocked by this announcement and took the appropriate measures right away. We've told the athlete and informed him about his rights, his accreditation has been pulled and he has been excluded from the Olympic team with immediate effect. Duerr is already on his way home."
This is the fifth positive test in Sochi, but the other four offences were not considered as serious because they involved substances that could be taken inadvertently. As a comparison, there was one positive test in Vancouver.
Duerr only competed in one race so far, and finished eighth in the men's skiathlon before heading back to Austria for more training. He was expected to take part in the 50-kilometer mass start race at 2 a.m. ET, but now that is not happening.