An apparent doping failure meant that medalists in team figure skate have not received their awards at the Beijing Olympics. Russian media reports that Kamila Valieva is the person in question. She made history with her quadruple jumps.
On Wednesday, reports surfaced that Valieva (15) had tested positive for trimetazidine (a heart drug that can increase endurance and blood flow). Russian media reports that Valieva submitted the sample before she won last month’s European Championship.
After missing Wednesday’s practice, Valieva was back on the ice on Thursday. There was speculation that Valieva might have been suspended. However, Olga Ermolina from the Figure Skating Federation of Russia told media outlets that Valieva has not been placed under any Olympic suspension. This means Valieva will compete at the single women’s competition that begins Tuesday.
Officials describe Tuesday’s cancellation of the medal ceremonies for the Russian Olympic Committee, the U.S. (silver), and Japan (bronze), due to a “legal problem.” The medals are still in doubt as of Thursday. The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee’s chair Susanne Lyons stated that Russia’s win would be thrown out and fourth-place Canada would get a place on the podium.
Lyons stated that while we don’t know everything about the situation, it is clear that the entire credibility of both the Olympic Movement (and the Paralympic Movement) is at risk. He sent a statement to NPR.
Other than the timing of Valieva’s test, there could also be complications due to Valieva being her age. She is considered a “protected individual” at the age of 15, according to the World Anti-Doping Code. This lowers the punishment for minor athletes found to have doped to a minimum of one reprimand and a maximum two-year ban. Officials are not required by the code to publicly identify doping athletes.
According to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, trimetazidine was initially banned during competition and added to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List in 2014. It was now banned in competition and as a metabolic modator for 2015.
Trimetazidine was previously linked to Russian athletes, who remain under sanctions due to their state-sanctioned use of drugs to cheat in sport.
Trimetazidine was found in Nadezhda Sereva, a Russian bobsledder, at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. Sergeeva was disqualified in that instance and the results of her two-person team were thrown out.
In 2018, the bronze medal of Russian curler Alexander Krushelnitsky was taken away. He tested positive for meldonium, a drug that increases blood flow. It is banned in the same section as trimetazidine on the WADA Prohibited List.
Krushelnitsky was given a four year ban. Sergeeva was originally given the same punishment. However, the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced the ban to two years despite Sergeeva having tested positive for meldonium. Sergeeva will be competing at the Beijing Games. She took her first training runs Thursday.
