Former Australian cyclist Matt White said Friday he had received a back-dated six-month ban after admitting to doping during his professional career. White released a statement saying the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) had informed him of the penalty last Friday. The ban, which has already expired, began on October 13 last year and ended on April 13. The Australian Associated Press said it understood the ban was reduced from one year because White cooperated with anti-doping authorities. White said he hoped to return to a role in cycling.

Britain's Lynsey Sharp said Wednesday that drug-taking in athletics remained a "huge problem" after being awarded a belated European Championship gold medal as a result of a rival's doping offences. The 22-year-old Scottish middle-distance runner finished second in the 800 metres in Helsinki last year but is due to be promoted to gold medal after Russia's Yelena Arzhakova was banned for two years. The Russian athletics federation said Tuesday that Arzhakova had shown an "abnormal haemoglobin profile in her biological passport" and stripped her of her title.

Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes was on Tuesday found guilty at a court in Madrid of endangering public health by administering blood transfusions to top cyclists and sentenced to a year in prison. A former manager of the Kelme cycling team Jose Ignacio Labarta was also found guilty and handed a four-month jail term but the three other co-accused in the case -- Yolanda Fuentes, Manolo Saiz and Vicente Belda -- were cleared. kca/phz

MADRID (Reuters) - A verdict in the Operation Puerto trial about doping in cycling will be published on April 30, the judge in charge of the case said in a court statement on Wednesday. Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes and four other defendants gave evidence in Madrid earlier this year, after a police operation which came to light in 2006 when anabolic steroids, transfusion equipment and blood bags were seized in raids.