Drug case far from closed despite OK samples

TURIN, Italy – The Austrians’ drug tests were negative. The doping probe is just beginning.

Austria’s biathlon and cross-country teams may have thought they were off the hook when all 10 doping samples from last weekend’s late-night raids came back Friday showing no evidence of banned substances.

But the International Olympic Committee made clear the case is far from closed, saying it will press ahead with a far-reaching probe based on evidence seized by police under Italy’s strict anti-doping laws.

The IOC said the test results on the six cross-country skiers and four biathletes were “only one element in what is undoubtedly an affair which goes far wider.”

“The IOC takes this affair very seriously and is determined to do everything in its power to bring full clarity to what has happened in the past days,” spokeswoman Giselle Davies said. “We must look at the bigger picture.”

Austrian ski federation chief Peter Schroecksnadel said that the police only found a machine to test blood sugar levels and some heart pills, both of which belong to the driver for the cross-country team. Authorities have said they seized blood transfusion equipment, syringes and other materials during the raids.