Sidko out of Olympic skiing after failing dope test

MOSCOW (AFP) - Alena Sidko, one of the Russia's most experienced nordic skiers, was thrown out of the country's Olympic team after testing positive for the banned drug EPO, local media reported Tuesday.

Reports said that the samples that were given by the 30-year-old Sidko on December 26, 2009, at an annual skiing event at Krasnogorks in the Moscow region, showed the presence of the banned medication.

Sidko won bronze medals in the team sprint at the 2005 world championships and in the individual sprint at 2006 Olympics in Turin.

National head coach Yury Charkovsky refused to comment on the reports that Sidko had been caught doping and insisted instead that she had been expelled from the team for being overweight.