Sochi, Feb 23 (IANS): Austrian cross-country skier Johannes Duerr has been thrown out of the Sochi Winter Olympics after testing positive for EPO.

"It is a black day for us," Austrian Olympic Committee president Karl Stoss told the media Sunday, reports Xinhua.

Duer tested positive Feb 16 in Austria where he had returned for training after finishing eighth in the men's skiathlon Feb 9. He had been scheduled to compete in the 50-km mass start Sunday.

"We are shocked by this announcement and took the appropriate measures right away," Stoss said.

"We've told the athlete and informed him about his rights, his accreditation has been cancelled and he has been excluded from the Olympic team with immediate effect. Duerr is already on his way home."

This is the fifth doping case at the Sochi Games.

The four other cases involved Latvian ice hockey player Vitalijs Pavlovs, Ukrainian cross-country skier Marina Lisogor, German biathlete Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle and Italian bobsledder William Frullani.