Skeleton federation suspends four Russians after Olympic bans

Berlin (dpa) - Two Russian skeleton athletes stripped of their medals from the Sochi Games have been barred for the time being from World Cup races after being provisionally suspended by the International Bobsliegh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF).The IBSF said late Thursday that following an International Olympic Committee (IOC) ruling as a result of doping, Aleksandr Tretiakov and Elena Nikitina, and two other athletes were provisionally suspended.Tretiakov, who won gold, and Nikitina, who won bronze at the 2014 Games, along with Mariia Orlova and Olga Potylitsyna, who did not win medals, were disqualified and given Olympic life bans in connection with doping practices at the 2014 Sochi Games, the IOC said Wednesday.The IBSF said: "In light of the decisions of the IOC‘s Oswald Commission to disqualify four skeleton athletes from the Sochi Olympic Winter Games 2014 the IBSF has decided to impose provisional suspensions on the athletes with immediate effect."The athletes have the right to a provisional hearing on the suspensions, it added.Tretiakov and Nikitina had both been planning to compete in World Cup races at Whistler, British Columbia, this weekend.On Thursday, the international ski federation FIS ruled that six Russian cross country skiers banned for life from the Olympic Games, including gold medallist Alexander Legkov, will be allowed to start in the opening World Cup race of the season on Friday in Ruka, Finland.Legkov, the 50-kilometre gold and relay silver medallist at Sochi 2014, is, however, currently training in Davis, Switzerland and will not compete in Finland.