The world governing body said in a statement on their website that an unnamed competitor had tested positive for a "substance defined under hormones and metabolic modulators," a category which includes meldonium.

So far this year, all three doping cases in biathlon have involved meldonium.

Provisional suspensions have been given to Ukrainian athletes Olga Abramova and Artyom Tyshchenko and Russia's Eduard Latypov, a gold medallist at last year's World Junior Championships.

"IBU decided to provisionally suspend an athlete due to an adverse analytical finding in athlete's A sample," the governing body said in a statement.

"The athlete, WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) and the respective National Federation were notified according to the IBU Anti-Doping Rules in compliance with the WADA Code.

"The suspension is mandatory, as the substance is defined under hormones and metabolic modulators.

"It was detected by the IBU in an out-of-competition test in March."

The nationality of the failed biathlete is not known.

They have the right to have their B-sample analysed and then appear before an IBU Disciplinary Hearing Panel.

"At the moment this is not considered a positive doping case," the IBU said in their statement.

"Further relevant information will be released once the process reaches its conclusion."