Russian Biathlon Union pledges tough anti-doping measures

The Russian Biathlon Union is taking strong measures against the use of doping in sports, the president of the union said.

"I have been repeatedly stating that we will be fighting against the use of doping harsher than all international federations put together. We must clear our sport of doping, because we have talented athletes, who can do everything perfectly," Mikhail Prokhorov said.

His statement comes in the light of a ban imposed by the International Biathlon Union (IBU) on Russian biathletes Albina Akhatova and Yekaterina Iourieva in August after they tested positive for the banned endurance-boosting hormone EPO in December of 2008.

However, Prokhorov said that the Russian Biathlon Union would continue supporting and protecting Akhatova and Iourieva.

"The proof provided by the International Biathlon Union and the decisions made by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne are not convincing," he said.

Last month the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne upheld the IBU's ban for the two Russian athletes.

The bans for Akhatova, a five-time Olympic medalist, and Iourieva, a former world champion, run until December 2010, meaning they will miss the Olympic Games in Vancouver.

Under the rules of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the pair will also miss the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi.

MOSCOW, December 8 (RIA Novosti)