SALZBURG, Austria (AP) — The Russian biathlon team's accommodation in Austria has been involved in a police action related to doping, the sport's governing body said Thursday.
The International Biathlon Union said it has received a statement from Austria's Central State Attorney for the Prosecution of Economic Offences and Corruption with details of the incident.
According to the IBU, the Austrian authorities said they are "conducting an investigation against five officials of the Russian biathlon team based on the use of prohibited substances and/or methods for the purpose of doping."
"It is also conducting an investigation against five Russian biathlon athletes based on fraud in connection with doping," the IBU said. "The period in question is the IBU Biathlon World Championships in Hochfilzen 2017."
A lawyer for Russian doping whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov said this year he provided information which led to the Austrian police action.
The Russian team is in Austria for a World Cup event.
Olympic champion Anton Shipulin, who won gold at the 2014 Sochi Games, said he is "angry and furious about the witch-hunt that is going on" and has never doped.
Alexander Loginov wrote on Instagram he was accused of "some machinations with blood transfusions and something else" supposedly committed as recently as February 2017.
In Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the overnight visit to Russian athletes ahead of a major competition looked "wild." She added that the Russian Embassy has turned to Austrian authorities for explanation, adding that Moscow will respond if it feels the case has political undertones.
Austrian police raided the headquarters of the International Biathlon Union in April, with prosecutors saying up to $300,000 had been paid to cover up Russian doping cases. The IBU's president stepped down soon after.
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