Five-time Olympic speedskating champion Claudia Pechstein of Germany has appealed against her two-year ban for a doping offense.
Pechstein's lawyer Simon Bergmann lodged the appeal Wednesday at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The International Skating Union banned Pechstein earlier this month after ruling that her blood profile indicated abnormal changes in a series of tests, in particular after the World Allround Championships in February, although she never failed a drug test.
After a two-day hearing, the ISU declared that the 37-year-old German had engaged in blood doping.
She is banned until Feb. 9, 2011, meaning she will miss next year's Vancouver Games.
