IOC sanctions Russian Olympians including silver medalist Abakumova

ZURICH (Reuters) - The International Olympic Committee on Tuesday sanctioned four Russian Olympians who competed at the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London games for failing drug tests, including silver medalist Maria Abakumova. Abakumova, who placed second in the javelin at the 2008 Games, was stripped of her medal after a re-analysis of stored samples resulted in a positive test for the banned substance dehydrochlormethyltestosterone, or turinabol, the IOC said. The other athletes disqualified following re-testing are 10,000 metres runner Inga Abitova and 400 metres runner Denis Alexeev, who both competed in Beijing, and track cyclist Ekaterina Gnidenko, who competed in London, an IOC statement said. None of them placed in the top three in their events. (Reporting by John Miller, Editing by Michael Shields)