Russian walker Ruzavin banned for doping

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Andrei Ruzavin, a bronze medallist at last year's World Cup, has been banned for two and a half years for doping offences, the country's athletics federation (VFLA) said on Tuesday.

"The Anti-Doping Commission of the Russian Athletics Federation has disqualified Ruzavin because of abnormal blood levels in his biological passport," the VFLA said on its website (www.rusathletics.com).

The ban has been backdated to start on Oct. 9 2014 and will end on April 8, 2017. The 28-year-old Ruzavin's results from Dec. 18 2011 to Feb. 18 2012 and from Sept. 13 2013 to Nov. 13 2013 will be annulled.

Russian Olympic walking champions Olga Kaniskina, Valery Borchin and Sergei Kirdyapkin, as well as 2011 world champion Sergei Bakulin and 2011 world silver medallist Vladimir Kanaykin were suspended in January for doping.

(Reporting by Dmitriy Rogovitskiy, editing by Ed Osmond)