“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,” wrote However, the prominent journalist Vasily Konov, on social media. “There is no doping in the conventional sense. No! This cardiac drug has no impact on ... performance. Now leave Kamila in peace.”
The International Olympic Committee has refused to comment on whether the athlete at the centre of a doping controversy at Beijing 2022 is the 15-year-old Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva, despite the teenager being named in multiple reports around the world, reports the Guardian.
Multiple sources have told the Guardian that Valieva, who captured the world’s attention when she became the first female skater to perform a quad at the Olympics, may be the athlete who tested positive for trimetazidine, a metabolic agent that helps prevent angina attacks. There has been no official confirmation that Valieva is the subject of the positive test and alongside the IOC, the Russian Olympic Committee and the International Skating Union are also refusing to confirm or deny if it was her.
Sources have suggested the test happened several weeks ago, raising questions about why it emerged only after the Russians won their figure skating team gold medal on Monday.
The Guardian understands that Valieva’s case is being heard at an emergency hearing at the court of arbitration for sport in Beijing. If the speculation is correct, and it is Valieva who tested positive, then the Russian Olympic Committee will lose their team gold and she will not be able to compete at the individual event next week.
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