Kazakh biathlon team members cleared after tests return negative

(Reuters) – Members of the Kazakh team raided by police at the biathlon World Championships in Austria last week will face no disciplinary action as tests on samples all returned negative, the International Biathlon Union (IBU) said on Thursday.

Ten members of the team had urine and blood samples taken after the police raided their hotel and seized “numerous medical products and medicines” last week.

The raid followed last month’s seizure of a box containing used syringes, drug ampoules and IBU event accreditations at a petrol station near the Italian border.

Documents found in the box indicated its contents could be “assigned to” Kazakhstan’s biathlon team, police said in a statement.

“The WADA-accredited laboratory in Seibersdorf reported all test results for urine, blood and serum were negative,” the IBU said in a statement on Thursday.

“The samples were tested for all substances on the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) prohibited list, including EPO (erythropoietin) and human growth hormone,” it added.

“Therefore the IBU is not considering any disciplinary actions against any athlete at this point in time.”

The championships are taking place in the Austrian Alpine resort of Hochfilzen.

(Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru)