Doping-CAS rejects request by German speedskater Pechstein

BERLIN, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Olympic speed skating champion Claudia Pechstein has been refused leave to compete in two World Cup events this month pending an appeal against a doping ban, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said on Friday.

CAS said in a statement that the German had filed "an urgent request for provisional measures" to be allowed to compete in World Cup events in Berlin this weekend and the Dutch city of Heerenveen on Nov. 11-13.

"The CAS Panel in charge of this case has denied the request, emphasising that the conditions which would allow it to grant the stay were not met," it added.

"In particular, that the athlete had not established in her request that her non-participation in both ISU (International Skating Union) World Cup events would cause her `irreparable harm'."

The five-times Olympic gold medallist is desperate to stay competitive, hoping to take part in her sixth successive Winter Games in Vancouver next year.

The CAS said the final decision on her case was expected within the next two weeks.

Pechstein was allowed to resume training with the German federation in September pending the outcome of her appeal against a two-year doping ban.

However, the 37-year-old is still banned from participating in any skating competition while she waits for the full CAS decision.

The ISU imposed the two-year ban in July after it said her blood profile had included abnormal values in a series of tests, in particular during February's world all-round championships.

Pechstein has appealed against the ISU ruling, saying she had never tested positive for banned substances and the positive results were due to testing mistakes and sample mix-ups. (Writing by Alan Baldwin in London; Editing by Pritha Sarkar; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)