Sports officials in Belarus have objected to what has amounted to a positive doping test for one of their short track speedskaters at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Speaking in Minsk Tuesday, Belarus Sports Minister Alexander Grigorov was quoted by the German Press Agency as saying that the Olympic Medical Commission's positive doping test on Julia Pavlovich was full of "procedural errors." His comments identified the athlete for the first time. International Olympic Committee rules call for Pavlovich and Belarussian delegation head Yaroslav Barichko to automatically be ejected from the Games. A spokesman for the Belarus Sports Ministry, Dmitry Shmarko, has said Pavlovich will leave the Olympic village immediately and is expected in Minsk on Wednesday. He had no information regarding Barichko's plans.

On Monday, the IOC said the unnamed competitor from the Belarus was being ejected from the Games after failing to show up for a doping test. The test was ordered after the athlete submitted an earlier sample which contained the anabolic steroid nandrolone. However, the test could not be considered positive because the bag bringing the sample to the lab was not properly sealed.

IOC director general Francois Carrard said the punishment also includes what is effectively a $120,000 dollar fine, because the Belarus Olympic Committee will be suspended until the end of the year from receiving IOC grants and subsidiaries amounting to that sum.

Some information for this report provided by AP and DPA.

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