Sport arbitration court lifts doping ban on Ukrainian biathlete

Russian-born Olga Abramova, who competes for Ukraine in the sport that combines cross-country skiing and marksmanship, "bore no fault or negligence" for her positive test because she had used meldonium before January 1, 2016, the date it was banned, the court said in a statement. She could not have known it would still be detectable in her body on January 10, when she underwent an in-competition drug test, it said. Abramova, 28, had appealed the ban imposed by the International Biathlon Union. "The panel was comfortably satisfied that the athlete fulfilled her obligation to ensure that meldonium did not enter her body after January 1, 2016," the court said. The court did rule, however, that Abramova's race results between January 10th and February 3rd of 2016 should be disqualified, citing World Anti-Doping Agency guidelines, Radio Liberty reports.