Russian sculls team banned from Rio for doping

Lausanne: World rowing’s ruling body says that the Russian men’s quadruple sculls team has been disqualified from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics for a doping violation, and will be replaced at the games by New Zealand.

The World Rowing Federation says that trimetazidine, a banned substance, was found in a urine sample given by rower Sergei Fedorovtsev in an out-of-competition test on May 17.

He competed a week later at the final Olympic qualifying regatta in Switzerland, where Russia initially qualified for the games and New Zealand placed third.

As Fedorovtsev, who won gold in the 2004 Olympics, had provided a positive doping test, the federation said “the results of all competitions in which the rower participated after 17 May, 2016, are therefore automatically disqualified.”