Former Olympic hurdles champion Ludmila Engquist has been banned from her new sport of bobsledding for two years after failing a doping test.

The Swedish Bobsled and Luge Association announced that Engquist would be banned until December 3, 2003, after results of the October 23 blood test showed traces of a metabolic drug. The test, carried out at a bobsled competition in Norway, prompted Engquist, 37, to admit that she had used performance-enhancing drugs in remarks that were widely televised.

Engquist, who won the 100m hurdles gold medal in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, started bobsledding in a quest to become the first woman to win gold medals in summer and winter games.