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NICE, France -- Two-time defending pairs champions
Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze of Russia were banned
from the World Figure Skating Championships after Berezhnaya
tested positive for a prohibited stimulant, the International
Skating Federation announced Sunday.
The organizing committee received the news from the Russian
Figure Skating Federation just one day before the start of
competition.
| |  | | | Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze were the favorites in the 2000 World Championships. |
Berezhnaya, who waived the right to the analysis of her "B"
sample, said she took the drug inadvertently to treat
bronchitis.
Berezhnaya's control was taken at the 2000 European
Championships last month in Vienna, where she and Sikharulidze
won the gold medal.
A second pair ranked much lower, Natalia Ponomareva and Yevgeny
Sviridov of Uzbekistan, also withdrew after Sviridov tested
positive for a banned stimulant. He also waived the right to a
second test.
"The ISU takes the doping issue very seriously," said ISU
spokeswoman Aline Bussat. "The athletes here have not denied
taking the substances. They said, 'OK, we withdraw.' "
The ISU said it marked the first positive test at a senior level
in the sport's history.
Under ISU regulations, as a first-time offender, Berezhnaya
could face a three-month ban. The Russian couple also could
forfeit the second of their two European championships, having
also won the title in 1998.
The pair had been looking to end a disaster-filled year with a
third straight title. A bad car accident sidelined them with
injuries earlier this season and their rocky split as a romantic
couple nearly scuttled their skating partnership.
Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze were favorites entering this
competition, which begins Monday with the pairs' short program
and men's qualifying. Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin will
replace the duo.
Without the reigning champions, the pairs event will center
around fellow Russians Maria Petrova and Alexei Tikhonov, who
took silver at the recent Europeans after the winning the
previous year, and the Chinese couple Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao,
runners-up at last year's worlds.
The Russians' withdrawal is an opportunity for American
champions Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman -- who share Russian
coach Tamara Moskvina with Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze -- to
move up the rankings.
Like Berezhnaya, Sviridov also said he took the substance by
accident, trying to treat a cough and cold. His control was
taken at the 2000 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships
in Osaka, Japan. Sviridov also waived the right to have his "B"
sample tested.
ISU officials refused to identify the substances in either case,
although they said they belonged to the category that includes
caffeine, ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, phenylpropanolamine and
strychnine.
The ISU will examine the cases on April 3-4, immediately
following the championships.
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