Australian cycling champion banned for doping
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[September 02, 2016]
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australian
Paralympic cyclist Michael Gallagher has been handed a mandatory
provisional suspension by Cycling Australia and the Australian
Paralympic Committee after testing positive for erythropoietin
(EPO).
Scotland-born Gallagher, who won track golds at the Beijing and
London Paralympics, was tested out-of-competition at a training camp
in Italy in July, the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority
(ASADA) said in a statement on Friday.
"The test was coordinated by ASADA as part of a comprehensive
pre-Rio anti-doping program to ensure the integrity of the
Australian Paralympic team," ASADA said.
The provisional suspension has ruled 37-year-old Gallagher out of
competing at this month's Paralympics in Rio.
The International Paralympic Committee banned Russia's entire
delegation from competing at the Paralympics due to state-sponsored
doping.
On Thursday, CAS rejected requests from more than 175 Russian
athletes to compete as neutrals.
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Last week the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), sport's highest
tribunal, rejected a Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) appeal
against the IPC suspension.
Russia appealed against the CAS ruling to the Swiss Federal Court,
which declined on Wednesday to issue a preliminary injunction that
would have let their disabled athletes compete in Rio.
The court said it would rule later on the team's ban.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)
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