Russian doping: Latvia will boycott Sochi 2017 World Championships

Latvia won the four-man bobsleigh at the 2016 World Championships in Innsbruck

Latvia became the first nation to say they will boycott the bobsleigh and skeleton World Championships in Sochi.

Pressure is mounting on authorities to strip the Russian city of the March event after a report claimed more than 1,000 Russians benefited from state-sponsored doping between 2011 and 2015.

Sochi hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics, where Russia won 33 medals.

"The Olympic spirit was stolen in 2014," said the Latvian team, who won skeleton and bobsleigh medals in Sochi.

"Now we say enough is enough.

"While our international federation is still going to 'read and digest the report', we will do what we can," they added in a statement.

"We will be glad to race in World Championships at any track of the world, but we are not participating in the World Championships in Sochi, Russia."

Latvia won silver in the four-man bobsleigh and silver in the men's skeleton at the 2014 Games. Their four-man bobsleigh team are also the current world champions.

Great Britain and the United States are waiting for the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation to make an official statement before taking a decision on their participation.

But it is expected they will join forces with other nations in announcing they will not send athletes if the event is not moved from Sochi.

British Olympic skeleton champion Lizzy Yarnold said in October she might boycott the championships.

The samples of 12 Russian medal-winning athletes at the Winter Games in 2014 had evidence of tampering and two Russian female ice hockey players provided male urine samples.