Sachenbacher-Stehle won cross-country skiing gold medals at Salt Lake City 2002 and Vancouver 2010 before focusing on the ski-shoot discipline in recent years.

But, after finishing fourth in the mass start event in Sochi, she tested positive for banned stimulant dimethylamylamine, which is also known as methylhexanamine, and was sent home by the German team.

Although at the time she blamed contaminated food supplements for the result, she did not challenge the result of the International Olympic Committee Disciplinary Commission.

The IBU has now confirmed the 33-year old has been handed a two-year ban, backdated to the date of the failed test on February 17. 

Given her age, it seems likely this will now mark the end of her career. 

Starykh, meanwhile, has also been handed a two-year ban, backdated to December 23, after testing positive for Erythropoietin (EPO) at an out-of-competition test in Slovenia shortly after she was selected for the Russian team for Sochi 2014.

Both Starykh and Sachenbacher-Stehle have 21 days in which they are able to appeal their verdicts to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Irina Starykh has also been handed a two-year ban after testing positive shortly before Sochi 2014 ©AFP/Getty Images



Starykh was one of two Russian biathletes to fail doping tests for a then unknown substance just two weeks before the Opening Ceremony of their home Games in January and the 26-year-old, who had shown remarkable improvement over the preceding months culminating in a first European title, was withdrawn from the Olympic team as a result.

At the time she described the news as "very surprising for me", before adding she was "sincerely sorry that this piece of news has been associated with my name".

One of the skiers who tested positive alongside Starykh, Ekaterina Iourieva, who was not selected for Sochi 2014 but won three medals at the 2008 World Championships in Östersund, announced her retirement from the sport in February rather than face a life ban after recording the second failed test of her career. 

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
February 2014: German biathlete and Italian bobsledder confirmed as first positive doping cases of Sochi 2014
February 2014: German athlete biathlete reportedly tests positive at Sochi 2014
January 2014: Starykh removed from Russian Olympic biathlon team after positive drugs test confirmed