26 Apr 2014

Latvian hockey player caught doping in Sochi

10:08 am on 26 April 2014

The International Olympic Committee has announced the Latvian ice hockey player Ralfs Freibergs tested positive at the Sochi Olympics for a banned substance.

It brings the total number of positive tests to eight at the Games in February.

The 23-year-old tested positive for an anabolic androgenic steroid after giving a urine sample following their quarter-final defeat to Canada two days earlier.

The IOC says he's had his diploma for placing eighth in the men's competition withdrawn.

Freibergs now faces a possible two-year ban from the international ice hockey federation.

The Sochi Games have seen seven more positive doping cases than the 2010 Vancouver Olympics with the IOC taking a winter Games record 2,812 blood and urine samples for testing.