Russian Latypov suspended after positive meldonium test

By Dmitriy Rogovitskiy MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian biathlete Eduard Latypov has been suspended from competition after testing positive for meldonium, the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU) said on Thursday. The International Biathlon Union (IBU) temporarily suspended the 21-year-old after his drugs test showed traces of the banned substance in a sample taken during the IBU Cup last month. Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova this week announced that she had tested positive for meldonium, which some researchers have linked to increased athletic performance and endurance, after failing by her own admission to realise that it had been outlawed since Jan. 1. The RBU confirmed that Latypov had tested positive but declined further comment. "The Russian Biathlon Union will not provide any further comments on the situation, until all circumstances of the situation are clear," the organisation's website www.biathlonrus.com added. (Reporting By Dmitriy Rogovitskiy; Editing by Keith Weir)