SOCHI, February 22 (R-Sport) – An athlete has been expelled from Russia’s national biathlon team during the Olympics over comments made on a social network website, the Russian Biathlon Union told R-Sport on Saturday.
Ekaterina Glazyrina, 26, is alleged to have posted derogatory comments about the national team on the VKontakte website, a popular social network in Russia. As of Saturday, these appeared to have been deleted.
She has been excluded from elite-level competition for the rest of the season, officials said.
“We can confirm that Ekaterina Glazyrina really has been suspended from work with the Russian national team for incorrect statements in relation to the Olympic team,” the Russian Biathlon Union said in a statement.
“As a result of this, Glazyrina will not take part in the remaining three stages of the World Cup this season.”
Glazyrina was a regular figure in World Cup competition this season and won a relay event with the Russian women’s team last month.
However, at the Sochi Olympics she was only entered for the individual event, in which she finished 61st, and was not included in the Russian team that won silver Friday in the women’s relay.
