Italian athlete sent home for doping
William Frullani kicked out of Sochi Games after positive dope test while a German athlete has also failed a drug test.
Bobsledder William Frullani was kicked out of the Sochi Games after a positive doping test, the Italian Olympic committee announced.
CONI said it was informed by the International Olympic Committee that Frullani came up positive for the banned stimulant dimetylpentylamine in a test taken in the Olympic Village on Tuesday.
Frullani asked for a backup test that was taken Friday and ‘confirmed the positive result, resulting in his exclusion from the Italian delegation’.
Earlier, an unidentified German athlete has failed a drug test in the first announced doping case of Sochi 2014.
The German Olympic Committee said on Friday it had been notified by the IOC late on Thursday that one of its athletes had tested positive on an ‘A’ sample. The backup ‘B’ sample will be analysed on Friday, the German committee said.
The Germans did not name the athlete, the sport or the substance involved. Olympic athletes face formal doping charges if both samples are positive. It’s rare for a ‘B’ sample to contradict the original ‘A’ finding.
The International Olympic Committee would not confirm or deny the positive test, staying in line with its procedures on any doping investigations.
Any athlete found guilty of a doping violation faces disqualification and removal of results and medals.
Germany has 16 medals so far in Sochi, including eight golds.
The IOC is conducting 2,453 drug tests in Sochi, a record for the Winter Games. The majority of tests are in strength and endurance sports, notably cross-country skiing and biathlon, events where the use of EPO and other blood-boosting drugs can aid stamina.