His claims have, however, already been downplayed by IBU President Anders Besseberg, who believes the body does not have the power to undertake such a review and can only recommend that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) take action.

This follows November's World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Independent Commission report into Russian doping, which highlighted concerns that the "impartiality, judgment and integrity were compromised by the surveillance of the FSB within the laboratory during the Sochi Winter Olympic Games".

The report was restricted to athletics, so did not consider these suggestions in detail, but Commission chairman Richard Pound said afterwards that he "does not think we can be confident there was no manipulation of results at Sochi 2014".

"I am of course very concerned about this," Carrabre, the Canadian who is also head of the IBU Medical Committee, told Norwegian broadcaster NRK.

He met officials from WADA last week, where, he claims, he told them how they should "look back, both on what happened in Sochi and what happened around the time". 

"We must discuss the data we have and see if we have something to go on with," he added.

"I think we should turn all stones. 

"All winter sports federations should make their own independent investigation of Sochi. 

"It would be a mistake not to do it."

But Besseberg, who has led the IBU since 1992 and is due to celebrate his 70th birthday next week, denied such a review will take place, although he would support a request to the IOC for retesting.

"He [Carrabre] said he would like to do this [retest samples from Sochi] but you know that if it is about the Olympics we are not responsible for it [re-testing]," the Norwegian, a member of the WADA Foundation Board who beat a field including Carrabre to continue as IBU President in 2014, told Reuters.

"We can ask the IOC that they retest and we can ask WADA.

"But this issue has not been discussed at the IBU.

"If he wants to bring it to the Executive Board on March 7 and wants that we should ask the IOC to retest, the EB will say okay, I am sure.

"Then we will make an application to the IOC.

"I will, at least, support it."

Germany's Salt Lake City 2002 and Turin 2006 Olympic champion Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle was the only biathlete to fail a test during Sochi 2014, testing positive for banned stimulant Methylhexanamine.

Italian bobsledder William Frullani, Ukrainian cross-country skier Marina Lisogor, Austrian skier Johannes Dürr and ice hockey players Vitalijs Pavlovs of Latvia and Nicklas Bäckström of Sweden also failed drugs tests during the Games. 

No Russians failed tests, although biathletes Ekaterina Iourieva and Irina Starykh each tested positive for erythropoietin (EPO) in the build-up to the Games, 

Starykh, who was withdrawn from the Olympic team as a result of her failure, was handed a two-year ban, while 2008 world champion Iourieva retired rather than face a life ban following the second positive of her career.

Former world junior champion Alexander Loginov was also handed a two-year ban in November 2014 after re-analysis of samples taken the previous year also showed traces of EPO.

Russia's national governing body accepted a €100,000 (£70,000/$106,000) fine after these failures for inflicting "serious damage to the interests and the reputation" of the IBU.

Biathlon was among 20 sports at which results were studied at the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory, which has now been closed after being declared non-compliant by WADA.

Russian Biathlon Union President Alexander Kravtsov has denied any wrongdoing.

"I can say that now, more than ever, Russian athletes are checked for doping and there are no problems," he told the R-Sport news agency.

"Our biathlon is clean."

The IOC also claim there were no problems in Sochi and that extra precautions were taken to ensure "correct procedures" were followed.