Olympic Skater Blames Positive Drug Test on Heart Medication Mix-Up

Feb. 16, 2022

Russian determine skater Kamila Valieva mentioned her constructive drug check was brought on by a mix-up along with her grandfather’s coronary heart remedy, in accordance with Reuters.

Denis Oswald, the everlasting chair of the International Olympic Committee’s disciplinary fee, mentioned Valieva mentioned the mix-up at a Court of Arbitration for Sport listening to, which was convened to find out whether or not she must be allowed to proceed competitors.

“Her argument was this contamination happened with a product her grandfather was taking,” Oswald instructed reporters.

Valieva, a 15-year-old skater for the Russian Olympic Committee, was cleared to compete within the ladies’s single occasion after a panel of three judges agreed with the Russian anti-doping company’s resolution to elevate a ban on her.

However, the court docket didn’t handle the deserves of the drug case, Reuters reported. The Russian anti-doping company, referred to as RUSADA, will maintain a listening to after the Winter Games finish.

Valieva was examined at her nationwide championship on Dec. 25. The constructive consequence for the banned angina drug trimetazidine wasn’t revealed till Feb. 8, after she had already competed on the Beijing Games within the staff occasion.

Valieva’s pattern included two different substances which can be generally used to assist the center however aren’t on the banned record, in accordance with The New York Times. The two substances — hypoxen and L-carnitine — additionally had been listed on her doping management kind.

The discovery of a number of comparable substances in an elite athlete, particularly one so younger, has been cited as uncommon, the newspaper reported.

“It’s a trifecta of substances — two of which are allowed, and one that is not allowed,” Travis Tygart, the chief govt of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, instructed the newspaper.

The advantages of that mixture “seem to be aimed at increasing endurance, reducing fatigue and promoting greater efficiency,” he mentioned.

The World Anti-Doping Agency has questioned why RUSADA didn’t reply to the constructive consequence sooner, Reuters reported.

Oswald additionally mentioned that Valieva’s “B” pattern hadn’t but been analyzed, Reuters reported. Under anti-doping guidelines, an athlete’s urine is examined twice. If the “A” pattern is constructive, the testing lab should inform the accountable authority, comparable to RUSADA on this case.

The athlete can then waive the proper to have a “B” pattern taken however concede to the drug cost. Otherwise, disciplinary procedures can’t begin till each the “A” and “B” samples are examined.

RUSADA additionally hasn’t responded to inquiries about why Valieva’s “B” pattern hasn’t been examined, Reuters reported.