The International Biathlon Union has banned former world champion Vadim Sashurin of Belarus for 15 months after he failed a drug test for the banned steroid nandralone.
The IBU said its Executive Board imposed the ban after a hearing Tuesday in Berlin. The ban is retroactive to September 13, when Sashurin tested positive in Ramsau, Austria. Unless the Belarussian proves he has made serious efforts to repair the damage done to the sport, his ban will be extended to two years.
Sashurin told the IBU he had been undergoing treatment for a shoulder injury and the drug must have been in medicine prescribed by his doctor. Sashurin won the world championship in team events in 1996 and 1997. He also has two individual titles and one relay title in World Cup competition.