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　　Olympic Doping Probe Focused on RussianAthletes

　　The International Olympic Committee (IOC) isconsidering suspending the Russian Track and Fieldteam from the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

　　The team is already banned from competing inevents run by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

　　The news came after a New York Times report saying Russian agents tampered with urinesamples during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

　　The Times talked with the former head of Russia's anti-doping agency. He said the Russianscollected clean urine from athletes before the Games. They then substituted the clean urine forsamples showing evidence of drug use.

　　Thomas Bach is the head of the IOC. He said the organization is considering different types ofpunishments for the Russian team.

　　He did not rule out banning Russia's entire team from the Games.

　　Bach said if the allegations were true, they would represent an "unprecedented level ofcriminality."

　　The doping problems with Olympic athletes are not limited to the 2014 Games.

　　Thirty-one athletes from around the world may be banned from this year's Olympics in Rio. Newtesting methods show evidence of doping from their samples collected in the 2008 BeijingOlympics.

　　The names of those athletes will be released in June.

　　Also, the IOC ordered 250 samples from the 2012 Games in London to be tested with the newmethods. Those results will be available in the next week.

　　Bach said "the results of the investigation will greatly influence the nature of the participationof Russian athletes in the Olympic Games Rio 2016."

　　The tennis player Maria Sharapova is another Russian athlete who is waiting to find out herstatus for the Olympics.

　　She tested positive for the drug meldonium at the Australian Open earlier this year. She faces aban from tennis that could last for four years.

　　She met with the International Tennis Federation (ITF) on Wednesday in London to discuss hercase. She hopes her suspension will be reduced.

　　The ITF is expected to announce the results of the hearing sometime this summer. Thatmeans Sharapova will most likely miss the French Open and possibly Wimbledon.

　　The Olympics begin on August 5.

　　Based on the news that Russia supported the doping of its athletes, the United StatesDepartment of Justice said it was opening an investigation.

　　The New York Times reported that the same U.S. attorney's office that investigated the FIFAcorruption case is looking into the doping scandal.

　　A Kremlin spokesperson said he did not think the U.S. Department of Justice should be able toapply its law to non-U.S. territories.

　　Russia is not the only country to come under scrutiny recently. The World Anti-DopingAssociation called Kenya's drug-testing agency "non-compliant."

　　There was concern that its track and field athletes would not be allowed to compete in Rio. Buton Friday, the IAAF said the Kenyan team would be allowed to compete, after all.

　　I'm Dan Friedell.