TURIN, Italy, Feb. 16 -- Russian biathlete Olga Pyleva was thrown out of the Olympics and stripped of her silver medal Thursday for failing a drug test, the first athlete caught for doping at the Turin Games.
A hastily convened, three-member International Olympic Committee panel found Pyleva guilty of a doping violation. She had tested positive for the banned stimulant carphedon in a urine test after Monday's race.
Nikolai Durmanov, head of the Russian Anti-Doping Committee, said a doctor who treated her in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk for an ankle injury in January gave her an over-the-counter medication that did not list carphedon as one of its ingredients.
"This was 100 percent the physician's mistake," Durmanov said.
Martina Glagow of Germany, who finished with bronze, will be awarded the silver. Albina Akhatova, Pyleva's Russian teammate, goes from fourth to bronze.
Further possible sanctions -- such as a long-term ban from competition -- are up to the International Biathlon Union.
Under the IOC's rules, athletes testing positive at the Olympics are considered guilty if a banned substance is found in their systems, regardless of the circumstances.
Durmanov said he met with Pyleva after the failed test. Asked how she was feeling, he added: "It is better not to talk about it. She is in a very bad condition."
He said no appeal was planned at this time.
Walchhofer Heads Home
Olympic downhill silver medalist Michael Walchhofer headed home after Austria left him off its four-man squad for Saturday's Super-G.
Walchhofer, who won silver in the Super-G at the 2005 world championships, was passed over for the team's final berth in favor of overall World Cup leader Benjamin Raich. He later left Italy, Austria team spokesman Robert Brunner said.
Walchhofer won silver in Sunday's downhill, then skied off-course during the first slalom run of Tuesday's combined.
"I am very happy the coaches decided to pick me," Raich said Thursday. "Of course, for Michi it's not so fun.
"I was disappointed after the combined and a bit down, so this was good news for me," added Raich, who was in position to win Tuesday's combined event but failed to finish his final run.
Austria's Super-G team also includes Hermann Maier, Hannes Reichelt and Christoph Gruber.
Maier leads the World Cup Super-G standings, while Reichelt is third. Gruber won the most recent Super-G.
Raich is the overall World Cup leader but hasn't cracked the top 15 in a Super-G race since the first event of the season.
"It's always difficult to make a decision like this," Austria men's head coach Toni Giger said. "Both Beni and Michael were on the podium in Super-G at the world championships in Bormio last year, but both haven't had the best season in Super-G so far."
Maier planned to return to the Italian Alps late Thursday, his agent said, after four days at lower altitude to recover from a nagging sore throat.
"He was in a quiet place, racing and improving his health," his agent Walter Della Karth told the Associated Press. "He is feeling better and will be back this evening."
Injured Koznick Skis
American Kristina Koznick took three runs Thursday with a brace on her right knee, her first time on skis since tearing knee ligaments almost two weeks ago.
"It went awesome," said Dan Stripp, her coach and boyfriend. "If it doesn't swell up too much, we'll go out again tomorrow." . . .
Defending champion Janica Kostelic of Croatia has a "90 percent" chance of competing in Friday's women's combined event after the flu and a fast pulse illness forced her out of Wednesday's downhill.
