Monday 25 January 2016 12:22, UK
The Russian Olympic Committee has banned four Russian athletes for doping, including a former European silver medalist.
Irina Maracheva, silver medal winner in the 800m at the 2012 European Championships, received a two-year ban, as did race-walker Anna Lukyanova, a former silver medallist at the world junior championships.
There were also four-year bans for runners Maria Nikolaeva and Elena Nikulina.
The sanctions were the first handed down by the ROC, which has gained some authority over the Russian track and field federation since it was banned from global competition in November over allegations of systematic doping.
The ROC did not specify which violations the four athletes had committed, when the bans were dated from, or which results would be canceled out as a result.
