| | LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- Two-time world pairs champion
Yelena Berezhnaya of Russia was suspended for three months, and she
and her partner were stripped of their European title for failing a
drug test.
She and her partner, Anton Sikarulidze, withdrew from the World
Championships in Nice last week, forgoing a defense of their crown,
after Berezhnaya tested positive for a banned stimulant.
Berezhnaya said the substance was taken inadvertently to treat
bronchitis.
The International Skating Union also suspended lower-ranked
Yevgeny Sviridov of Uzbekistan for three months for a similar
offense. His partner is Natalia Ponomareva.
The sanctions -- agreed at a skating union meeting in Nice on
Monday -- were the maximum possible for first-time offenses. The
skaters will be allowed to continue with ice shows and exhibitions
in the next three months.
"Both couples are excluded from the respective results of the
championships and their respective placements, prize money as well
as the European title and medal for Berezhanya/Sikarulidze are
withdrawn," the skating union said.
Both Berezhnaya and Sviridov tested positive for the category of
stimulants, which includes ephedrine, phenylpropanolamine,
pseudoephedrine, caffeine and strychnine.
The ISU said the sanctions are retroactive to the date of the
positive test, meaning that Berezhnaya is suspended from Feb. 9 to
May 8, while Sviridov is suspended from Feb. 24 to May 23.
The skating union also said Budapest had withdrawn as host for
the 2002 European Championships because of a fire that destroyed
the city's ice arena last year. The event has been switched to
Lausanne and will be held Jan 14-20, 2002. | |
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