The International Biathlon Union on Thursday handed a one-year suspension to Oksana Khvostenko after the retired Ukrainian tested positive for a banned substance upon winning a relay silver medal at this year’s world championships in Russia.
Khvostenko, 33, admitted to unwittingly taking the stimulant ephedrine in common cough syrup at the competition in the Siberian city of Khanty-Mansyisk in March, the IBU said in a website statement.
Khvostenko, who won the same medal in 2003 and 2008 as part of the Ukrainian 4x6 kilometer relay team, first entered international competition in 1996 and gained a reputation as one of the best shooters of her generation.
