Skiing federation wants Johaug ban increased

ZURICH (Reuters) - The international skiing federation (FIS) has asked for the 13-month doping ban on Norwegian cross-country skier Therese Johaug to be increased, it said on Tuesday.

Johaug, who won the World Cup in 2014 and 2016 and has also won seven world championship titles and three Olympic medals, tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid clostebol while training in Italy last September.

The 28-year-old said she tested positive after using a cream to treat her sunburned lips bought by her doctor at an Italian pharmacy without knowing it contained the substance.

Her 13-month ban was handed down by the Norwegian Olympic Committee last month. However, FIS said the ban was on "the low end of the range of reasonable sanctions" and that it had filed an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

FIS said that Johaug "failed to read the doping warning label printed in red on the package despite the fact that the medication was unknown to her and was purchased in a foreign country".

(Writing by Brian Homewood; Editing by John O'Brien)