Best of the Rest

Petacchi banned:

Retired sprinting standout Alessandro Petacchi has been banned for two years by the International Cycling Union after being linked to a blood doping ring.

The UCI says that Petacchi was punished for “use of prohibited methods/substances” in 2012 and 2013 based on information received from authorities in Austria. (AP)

Para-rower dies:

The governing body of rowing says para-rower Dzmitry Ryshkevich died after his boat capsized during training at the world championships in Austria.

World Rowing cites a police statement that the flotation device on the 33-year-old Belarus athlete’s boat had broken.

Although Ryshkevich freed himself from the safety belts in the boat, he sank into the water near the Danube in Linz-Ottensheim on Wednesday as rescuers approached. (AP) Kuznetsov gets 4-year ban: The International Ice Hockey Federation said on Friday it had suspended Russian national team player Evgeny Kuznetsov for four years for testing positive for cocaine.

Kuznetsov, 27, plays for the Washington Capitals in North America’s National Hockey League (NHL). (RTRS)

Ex-Oly champ dead:

Former Alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medallist Egon Zimmermann has died at the age of 80, Austria’s ski association said on Friday.

Zimmermann, born in the town of Lech in Austria, won the downhill gold medal at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck.

He had belonged to the Arlberg ski club and was an allrounder – winning the World Cup gold medal in Giant Slalom during the 1962 competition in Chamonix – whose favourite discipline was downhill. (RTRS)