Beijing: Olympic favourite Kamila Valieva has tested positive for a banned heart medication before her arrival in Beijing, the Russian newspaper RBC reported, putting in jeopardy the Olympics team gold medal that she helped win this week.
The sample was reportedly obtained in December, when the 15-year-old Valieva was still in Russia but did not come to light until after she helped her team win the gold medal with dynamic performances in her short program and free skate.
Kamila Valieva of Team ROC reacts during competition on Friday.Credit:Getty Images
The drug, Trimetazidine, is used to treat angina — a type of chest pain marked by reduced blood flow to the heart — and is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency as a stimulant. It is the same drug that was involved in a Russian bobsled case at the 2018 Olympics that ended in a settlement and the athletes accepting an eight-month ban.
It is unclear whether Valieva has any heart problems.
Russian athletes are in Beijing competing as the “Russian Olympic Committee” (ROC) after the country was banned because of a massive state-sponsored doping scheme at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said that “legal consultation” was required between the IOC and the International Skating Union, the world the governing body of skating. Details of the case were not specified, but Adams acknowledged that “we have athletes [who] have won medals involved.”
Kamila Valieva of Team ROC falls during the Women Single Skating Free Skating Team Event on day three of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games on Friday.Credit:Getty Images
If the Russian team is disqualified, the US team would be elevated to gold, Japan to silver and fourth-place finisher Canada — the defending champion in the team event — would receive the bronze medal.
If any athlete and team is disqualified or had results nullified, an appeal is likely to follow, which could further delay the medal presentation. The Court of Arbitration for Sport has set up an office in Beijing to hear urgent cases.
Valieva’s status for the individual competition next week has also been cast in doubt.
Reporters asked the Kremlin about the issue late on Wednesday amid speculation that the gold medals won by the six Russian skaters that took part in the team competition could be at risk.
“Let’s, for the sake of understanding, wait for some explanations either from our sports officials or from the IOC,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
While the Russian team dominated the competition, it was Valieva that shone brightest. Along with winning the short program and free skate, she became the first woman to land a quadruple jump in an Olympic competition, giving her team the maximum number of points while underscoring her status as the favourite in next week’s individual competition.
Many of the skaters who took part in the team competition, including American star Nathan Chen and Russian’s Mark Kondratiuk, are due to leave Beijing shortly after competing Thursday’s free skate.
“Everyone is doing absolutely everything that the situation can be resolved as soon as possible,” Adams said, though he cautioned “as you know, legal issues can sometimes drag on.”
AP
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