Russia confirms 2008 Olympic athletes' doping retest positive

The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) on Tuesday confirmed doping samples of 14 Russian athletes taken during the 2008 Olympics tested positive after rechecking.

"The ROC has received official documents from the IOC (International Olympic Committee) notifying that A tests for 14 Russian athletes in three sport varieties, taken at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, came back positive after re-examination," the ROC said in a statement.

It added that it will soon inform the IOC the list of interested athletes who will be present during unsealing and analysis of their B samples, while ROC representatives would also be present as observers.

According to the ROC, the names of the athletes would not be published until the results of the B sample unsealing are announced and the official disciplinary procedure is launched.

Nevertheless, Russia's Match TV earlier in the day released all the 14 athletes' names, including one 2008 Olympic champion and four silver winners of various Olympic events, mostly in track and field.

The IOC retested 454 selected doping samples from the 2008 Olympic Games, focusing on athletes who could potentially start at the upcoming Rio Games.

As a result, up to 31 athletes from six sports could be banned from competing at the Olympic Games in Rio, and the IOC Executive Board agreed unanimously to initiate proceedings immediately.

Russian sports has been in the center of doping scandals since last year, while New York Times published an interview of Moscow's anti-doping laboratory's former head, who claimed Russia plotted state-run doping program. Endit