Skating-Kulizhnikov breaks 34-second barrier in 500 metres

Nov 20 (Reuters) - Less than two years after returning from a doping suspension, Russian speed skater Pavel Kulizhnikov continued his sizzling form on Friday when he became the first man to break the 34-second barrier in the 500 metres. Competing at a World Cup meeting on the Olympic track in Salt Lake City, the 21-year-old Russian rocket closed strongly to clock 33.98 seconds. The time by Kulizhnikov bettered his own world record set five days ago when he clocked exactly 34 seconds in Calgary. The Calgary performance bettered the longstanding mark of 34.03 by Canadian Jeremy Wotherspoon that dated back to 2007. Kulizhnikov's record-setting races come 20 months after he returned to competition following a two-year suspension for an anti-doping violation that caused him to miss the Sochi Winter Olympics in his home country. Kulizhnikov tested positive at the world junior championships in March 2012. Russian sport is currently embroiled in a doping scandal amid evidence of systematic doping by its athletes in track and field. (Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Editing by Larry Fine)