Latvian ice hockey player Vitaljis Pavlovs fails doping test

 Latvian men's ice hockey player Vitaljis Pavlovs was thrown out of the Sochi Olympics on Sunday after he tested positive for a banned stimulant, the International Olympic Committee said.

Pavlovs, 24, who is the fourth athlete to be banned for doping at Russia's first Winter Olympics, tested positive for methylhexaneamine on Feb. 19, the IOC said in a statement.

German biathlete Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle, Italian bobsleigh athlete William Frullani and Ukraine's cross-country skier Marina Lisogor have also been caught doping at the Games that end later on Sunday.

The IOC is conducting a record 2,500 doping tests in Sochi. The 2010 Vancouver Olympics had one positive case. (Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; editing by Ken Ferris)