Teenage skating sensation Kamila Valieva tested positive for a banned drug, holding up the presentation of the team figure skating medals at the Beijing Olympics, Reuters reported Wednesday.
The athletes representing the Russia Olympic Committee won the gold medal in the competition, with Valieva the star of the multiday competition. The medals ceremony that was scheduled for late Tuesday was postponed amid reports that one of the six Russian skaters tested positive for an unapproved drug.
Reuters, citing reports from newspapers RBC and Kommersant, said the drug was Trimetazidine (TMZ), used by patients to treat angina. It has been banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency since 2014.
Russian athletes are competing in Beijing under the ROC name because of a previous doping scandal. Russia’s country name, flag and national anthem have been banned from these Olympics, as they were in the Tokyo Games last summer.
Reuters cited a report from Russian journalist Vasily Konov who said the drug was detected in a sample taken long before Valieva arrived in Beijing.
“The drug trimetazidine does not help an athlete in any way. At all. It was found in one single sample in December. A minuscule amount. Nothing in her samples before or since,” Konov wrote on social media. “There is no doping in the conventional sense. No! This cardiac drug has no impact on … performance.”
WADA says otherwise, saying it improves performance, especially in endurance sports. TMZ increases blood flow to the heart and limits rapid swings in blood pressure.
The United States finished second in the team competition, with Japan third. Canada placed fourth.
Valieva, 15, became the first woman to land a quadruple jump in Olympic competition and is favored to win the gold medal in the upcoming ladies’ singles program.
“You can bet your bottom dollar we are doing everything that this situation can be resolved as soon as possible,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said. “I cannot give you any more details but we will do our level utmost.”
–Field Level Media