Pentathlon - Two Russians banned from Rio

LONDON (Reuters) - Russian modern pentathletes Maksim Kutsov and Ilia Frolov have been barred from the Rio Olympics because of prior anti-doping offences, the sport's governing body said on Tuesday. In a statement the Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) said its executive board had made the decision based on the findings of last week's Mclaren report which exposed a state-run doping programme across Russian sport. Both athletes were named in the report. "Based on information provided by the WADA at the request of UIPM following the publication of the McLaren Report, UIPM has established that Maksim Kustov (Russia) and Ilia Frolov (Russia) were responsible for samples labelled as 'Disappearing Positive Methodology'" a UIPM statement said. "The Russian Modern Pentathlon Federation (RMPF) has been informed that, as a result, Kustov and Frolov are no longer eligible to compete at the 2016 Olympic Games." According to the statement both tested positive for trenbolone, methenolone and oxandrolone in tests conducted at a Moscow laboratory in August 2014 but the findings were not reported as such. Kutsov's place will go to Latvia's Ruslan Nakonechnyi. Frolov had only been a reserve. Three other Russian athletes, including former world champion Aleksandr Lesun, will be allowed to compete. In the wake of the damning Mclaren report into Russian doping at the Sochi Olympics the International Olympic Committee decided against a blanket ban on Russia at the Games, leaving the individual sport's governing bodies to decide. (Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Pritha Sarkar)