Yegorova Drug Test Incomplete

Results of Russian distance runner Olga Yegorova’s second drug test were not completed Thursday, putting on hold a threat by defending 5,000-meter world champion Gabriela Szabo to drop out of the race at the World Championships if Yegorova competes.

Yegorova tested positive for erythropoietin in Paris July 6. The drug, primarily used by athletes in endurance sports, stimulates the production of oxygen-enriched red blood cells.

According to rules of the International Assn. of Athletics Federations, athletes whose first result is positive are entitled to a second test. Yegorova was suspended pending results of that test, which IAAF officials said were delayed by technical problems. The first round of the women’s 5,000 will be run Thursday. Yegorova is on the entry list but won’t be allowed to run unless she is cleared by the second test.

“If she is there to start, for sure I won’t run,” Szabo said. “It is not right for her to run here.”

Yegorova could be banned from IAAF competitions for two years.