Ekaterina Yourieva (RUS) became the world champion in the 15 k at the 2008 World Championships in Östersund, Sweden. She delivered outstanding results throughout the championships, and hauled home a silver medal in the pursuit and a bronze medal in the mass start. Only a few months later, during the 2008-2009 season opener at the same venue, the Russian biathlete tested positive for the blood-boosting drug EPO.
While waiting for her B sample to be analyzed, Yourieva trained and competed throughout January and began her preparations for the World Championships in South Korea as the unrightfully defending World Cup leader. When her B sample also tested positive for EPO, Yourieva was suspended, along with fellow Russian biathletes Albina Akhatova and Dmitry Yaroshenko.
Eliminated
Yourieva’s results from the early 2008-09 season were eliminated from the records, and her suspension lasts until the end of December 2010, according to ESPN.com. An appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) was unsuccessful. And due to the strict doping rules of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the three Russian athletes will not be able to compete in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi (RUS).
Comeback