Top Russian Biathlete Reportedly Fails Doping Test Biathletes training in Germany. Two Russians and a Lithuanian have been suspended over drug tests. Kay Nietfeld/European Pressphoto Agency A Russian biathlete who is the reigning women's European champion has been suspended for a doping violation just a week before the Olympic opening ceremony in Sochi, according to Russian reports. The suspension dealt a blow to the Olympics host country and cast a pall over one of Russia's signature sports. The athlete, Irina Starykh, is ranked sixth in the world and won the sprint competition in the European championships last year. She was a member of the relay team that won a major competition in Germany this month and was seen as one of Russia's best chances for a biathlon medal in Sochi. Starykh, 26, was one of three biathletes suspended by the International Biathlon Union on Tuesday after testing positive for an unidentified substance. They were suspended pending a second test that serves as confirmation. The results of those tests could be released next week. The International Biathlon Union, which announced the suspensions of two Russians and a Lithuanian, did not release the names of the athletes. But Russian media reports quickly identified Starykh as one of the athletes. The other Russian was identified in media reports as Ekaterina Iourieva, who was also suspended for doping in 2009. Iourieva had not been expected to compete in Sochi. The suspensions on the eve of the Games could hardly come at a worse time for Mikhail D. Prokhorov, the owner of the Nets and the president of the Russian biathlon federation. He has spent millions of his vast fortune to prepare Russia's biathlon team for the Olympics and had declared cracking down on doping a major priority. He vowed to clean up the program after Iourieva and two other Russian athletes were suspended in 2009. Those suspensions were a low point for a team that had been an international powerhouse for decades but had lost much of its luster in recent years. A representative for Prokhorov, Russian biathlon officials and the Lithuanian biathlon federation did not respond to requests for comment. Russian sports officials and international biathlon leaders had given Prokhorov and his organization high marks for cleaning up the sport - until Tuesday. Anders Besseberg, the International Biathlon president, cautioned that it was too early to conclude that the athletes were guilty of doping. But he said he was pleased with the detection system. "I see this as very positive because we are using so much energy and time and money for catching those trying to cheat us," he said. It's clear proof that we are doing a very serious job here. The suspensions caused a stir in the world of biathlon. Competitors said they had already been uncertain about Russia's program, given its recent history, and the suspensions cast the upcoming competition in a new light. "If top-ranked athletes are involved, then it really calls into question the whole program and makes you really wonder about the results of the whole team," said Max Cobb, president of the United States biathlon organization. "I thought that with the new leadership that this was getting cleaned up," Cobb added. It's very disappointing to see this, if it's all what appears to be. A generation ago, biathlon was a signature Soviet sport, and the country had one of the most formidable biathlon programs in the world. But in recent years the team has been overtaken by Norway and Germany, among others. Nevertheless, Prokhorov has poured resources into the team, hiring coaches from around the world and sparing no expense in providing the best training and equipment, to the envy of smaller biathlon programs. Russia was expected to compete for multiple medals next month. Prokhorov, a billionaire who made his fortune in nickel mining, has publicly vowed to resign if Russia does not win at least two gold medals. After Starykh and the Russian women won the relay in Germany this month, Prokhorov took to his personal blog to celebrate. "Bravo, bravo, and once again bravo," he wrote. The victory offered "hope for future Russian victories, and not only in sports."