Top Olympic official accuses Russian athletes of 'systematic planned doping'

Two Russian race walkers were also thrown out of the Olympics today after traces of the blood boosting hormone EPO was found in their blood.

'It's sad and very disappointing that this type of planned cheating is still going on,'  said Professor Arne Ljungqvist, chairman of the International Olympic Commitee's medical commission.

Russia's Yelena Soboleva, pictured after winning the world indoor 1,500m this year. She is suspended from the Olympics after a 16-month doping investigation

The seven women - five of whom were due to compete in Beijing - have been accused of tampering with urine samples, after DNA checks made last year did not match tests this year.

The world governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations, has provisionally suspended the women, who include Yelena Soboleva, the world indoor 1,500 metres champion, and Tatyana Tomashova, the Olympic 1,500m silver medallist behind Britain's Kelly Holmes in Athens four years ago.

Soboleva has vowed she would fight the suspension.

Ljungqvist, who is also vice-president of WADA, the world anti-doping agency, said: 'This does seem to be an example of systematic planned doping, and under the new WADA code that would mean an expanded ban of four years.

'The federation have done a very good job in revealing a very bad doping story which is just frustrating to find.

'There is a due procedure for the Russian federation to follow but the data is convincing and the DNA analysis is 100%. If the urine is proved to not be theirs then they certainly have a case to answer.'

The IAAF targeted the Russian squad after the women were unfailingly prompt in turning up for drug tests and their results were suspiciously 'too clean'.

A 16-month investigation by drug testers from the IAAF showed the DNA profile of urine samples from the women did not match other samples provided by them.

Other athletes involved in the urine manipulation inquiry are Olga Yegorova; the distance runners Yuliya Fomenko and Svetlana Cherkasova; the former hammer world record-holder Gulfiya Khanafeyeva; and the 2007 world silver medallist discus thrower, Darya Pishchalnikova.

It was announced today that race walkers Vladimir Kanaikin and Valery Borchin had been kicked off the Russian team after failing dope tests

Another walker, Alexei Voevodin, who did not qualify for Beijing, also tested positive.

Coach Viktor Chegin said: 'The test were taken in an out-of-competition here at home in Saransk on April 20. It showed traces of EPO in the blood of my athletes.'

Ljungqvist said between 4,500 and 5,000 drugs tests - more than ever before -
would be carried out at the Beijing Games, some of them targeted at athletes who
have raised suspicions they may be using banned drugs.