Two multi-medalists stripped of gold

SALT LAKE CITY -- Olympic officials, vowing to stay a step ahead of drugged athletes, threw two multi-medalist skiers out of the games Sunday and stripped them of a gold medal apiece for using a substance not yet on the banned list.

Cross-country skiers Larissa Lazutina of Russia and Johann Muehlegg of Spain forfeited their most recent medals after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug intended to help kidney patients avoid anemia.

A third cross-country skier, Olga Danilova of Russia, also tested positive for the same drug, darbepoetin, which boosts the production of red blood cells that carry oxygen to muscles.

All three athletes were tossed out of the Winter Olympics on the final day of competition.

Arne Ljunqqvist, chairman of the International Olympic Committee's medical commission, said the disqualifications were a warning to athletes who think they can get away with using new drugs.

Strong statement

"The substance is not listed on the banned list because it is so new," Ljunqqvist said. "This is a strong statement to those who say we are far behind. We are on their heels."

Lazutina, who tied an Olympic record Sunday with her 10th medal by winning the women's 30-kilometer classical race, was forced to give up that victory. But she will be allowed to keep two medals she won earlier -- silvers in the 15K freestyle and the 10K combined event.

Muehlegg, who had won three gold medals at these games, was ordered to return the one from Saturday's 50K classical race. But he gets to keep his golds in the 30K freestyle and the 10K pursuit.

"I don't understand this result. I've been skiing for 10 years in World Cups and I've been through 25 controls, and there's never been a problem," Muehlegg said in a Spanish radio interview.

Danilova, who earlier won a gold and a silver, was disqualified from the 30K classical race in which she finished eighth.

The IOC said it could not strip the other medals because the athletes had passed those drug tests, but IOC president Jacques Rogge said those medals are tainted.

Process challenged

The Spanish and Russian Olympic delegations challenged the process by which the test results were validated. All three positive results came from out-of-competition drug tests on Thursday.

Vitaly Smirnov, an IOC vice president from Russia, said the Russian team would appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport but would not pull out of Sunday night's closing ceremony because of the drug cases.

Since darbepoetin is relatively new, it is not on the IOC's list of banned substances. But it has similar properties to the banned hormone erythropoietin, or EPO.

Darbepoetin, marketed by Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based Amgen Corp. under the name Aranesp, was approved in mid-September by the Food and Drug Administration to help patients with chronic kidney failure battle anemia.