TURIN, Italy - Russian biathlete Olga Pyleva will face a criminal trial in Italy for a doping offence that cost her a medal at the Turin Winter Olympics in 2006.
Pyleva has been ordered to stand trial for alleged doping, which is a criminal offence in Italy, and the first hearing will take place on Oct. 16, the office of Turin prosecutor Raffaele Guariniello said Wednesday.
Pyleva was kicked out of the Olympics and stripped of the silver medal she won in the 15-kilometre race after she tested positive for carphedon, a stimulant which increases endurance and resistance to cold.
The 32-year-old Russian, who won the 10K pursuit at the Salt Lake City Games in 2002, was also banned from competition for two years.
She has maintained she unknowingly took the banned substance when a doctor treating her for an ankle injury gave her an over-the-counter medication.
In Italy, doping carries a maximum penalty of two years in jail - although prison sentences of a couple of years are routinely suspended for first offenders.