Another Russian biathlete faces doping ban for missing tests

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Another Russian biathlete faces doping ban for missing tests

The Associated Press Published Tuesday, February 26, 2019 5:51AM EST

In this Tuesday, May 24, 2016 file photo an employee of the Russia's national drug-testing laboratory holds a vial in Moscow, Russia. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, file)

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MOSCOW -- A Russian biathlete is facing a two-year ban for missing three doping tests.

Margarita Vasilyeva has had a strong debut World Cup season but is said to have missed three tests in 10 months.

In a statement released by the Russian Biathlon Union, Vasilyeva says she struggled with rules obliging athletes to give drug testers advance notice of their whereabouts for one hour each day. She says testers turned up in Siberia when Vasilyeva was already on her way to Canada for a competition.

The Russian biathlon team has been accused of widespread doping going back several years. Austrian authorities are also investigating allegations that bribes were paid to cover up failed tests.