MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian biathlete Anton Shipulin, who won gold at the 2014 Sochi Olympics in the men's 4x7.5 km relay, announced his retirement on Tuesday as Russian biathlon remains under increased scrutiny. The 31-year-old was not among the four Russian biathletes cleared by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to compete at this year's Pyeongchang Winter Games. Shipulin's announcement comes less than two weeks after Austrian police visited the Russian national team at a Biathlon World Cup event in the town of Hochfilzen over possible doping violations. The International Biathlon Union (IBU) later announced that Austrian authorities were investigating five biathlon officials and five athletes from Russia over possible doping-related offences during the 2017 World Championship. The IBU charged four Russian biathletes with anti-doping rule violations in November, but Shipulin was not among them.

Source: The Star December 25, 2018 08:48 UTC