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WARSAW, Poland - Polish cross-country skier Kornelia Marek tested positive for EPO at the Vancouver Olympics in the first serious doping case of the Games, the Polish Olympic Committee said Thursday.
Marek tested positive after helping Poland to a sixth-place finish in the women's relay Feb. 25, the Polish committee said.
Marek also was a member of the Polish team which finished ninth in the team sprint. She placed 11th in the 30-kilometre mass start, 39th in the 10-kilometre freestyle and 35th in the 15-kilometre pursuit.
If found guilty of doping by the International Olympic Committee, Marek and the relay teams would be disqualified and stripped of their Vancouver results. Marek would also be banned from the next Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, in 2014.
Marek denied taking any banned substances and is awaiting the testing of her backup "B" sample Friday at the Vancouver doping lab.
"I hope it will be negative," Marek told Polish television. "I have nothing to reproach myself for.
"I was never taking any banned substances."
The Vancouver Games, which ended Feb. 28, had produced only two minor doping violations until now - both involving hockey players who tested positive for light stimulants and were let off with reprimands.
EPO is a synthetic hormone which enhances endurance by boosting the production of oxygen-rich red blood cells in the body.
The IOC said it was investigating a positive test, but declined to name the athlete because the case hadn't been finalized.
"We can confirm that we have an adverse analytical finding," IOC spokesman Mark Adams said. "The athlete and the National Olympic Committee have been informed and a disciplinary procedure is underway."
Doping experts have been waiting to hear whether the Vancouver Games were as clean as they appeared to be, warning that testing after several events that took place in the final couple of days of competition could still turn up some doping infractions.
There were a number of long-distance cross-country ski events at the end of the Games; that sport has one of the worst track records for doping violations.
While there could still be additional positive tests that come to light in the coming days, to this point this incident is the only one that has been brought to the IOC's attention, Emmanuelle Moreau, another spokesperson for the organization, said in an email.
The Polish Olympic Committee said it was notified of the positive result by the IOC late Monday. The results of the "B" sample test will be known Tuesday or Wednesday, spokesman Henryk Urbas said.
"Then we will know if we are dealing with a case of doping," Urbas told The Associated Press. "She is shocked, the coach is shocked, everyone is shocked."
