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home Olympic Games in January and the 26-year-old, who had shown remarkable improvement over the preceding months, was withdrawn from the team for Sochi 2014 as a result.

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

But, in a statement the International Biathlon Union (IBU) has confirmed that both her A and B samples - taken in December - showed evidence of EPO.

She is likely to be banned for two years as a result, although this will be confirmed at an IBU anti-doping panel hearing in Salzburg within the next few weeks.

It was also confirmed that Ekaterina Iourieva, who tested positive alongside Starykh, had also produced a B sample showing evidence of EPO.

Because Iourieva, a former world champion who was not picked for the Russian Sochi 2014 team, has already served a two-year ban in 2009, she now faces life suspension from the sport.

However, in what could be taken as an attempt to pre-empt this decision, Iourieva announced her retirement late last month on the grounds that she had no more incentives to continue her career.

Despite concerns before Sochi 2014 no other members of the Russian team tested positive during the Games ©Getty Images



Although a number of Russian athletes from various summer and winter sports have failed drugs tests in recent years, no other member of the nation's Sochi 2014 team did, as the host nation finished top of the medals table with 33 medals, including 13 golds.

However, there have been allegations that the team used xenon gas during the Olympics, which is said to increase the levels of EPO in the body, and these claims are being investigated by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

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