Summary
- More controversy at Beijing Winter Olympics
- Russian teen alleged to have failed drug test
- IOC or Russia are yet to confirm name of the athlete
The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics has made more news for all the wrong reasons than the right ones. All of this started before the Olympics, as multiple countries threatened a diplomatic boycott of the Olympics due to China’s human rights abuses.
The threat of the omicron COVID variant, alleged data breaches involving the COVID app that Olympic athletes use and the Peng Shuai retirement during the Olympics have thrown a lot of shade at the event.
Earlier this week, female skiers complained of double standards at the Olympics after 5 of them were disqualified because of their outfits. The latest controversy is allegedly to be around a Russian teen skater who failed a drug test.
Russian Teen Fails Drug Test
Reports surfaced that a 15 year old female skater had failed a drug test and tested positive for trimetazidine. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is yet to confirm the name or nationality of this athlete but unconfirmed reports suggest that it is a Russian teen by the name of Kamila Valieva.
Kamila Valieva turned heads this week after she set a record for becoming the first woman to make quadruple jumps at the Olympics. Soon after, her achievements were put under a cloud as rumours circulated that the young woman had failed a drug test a number of weeks ago.
The International Skating Union and the Russian Olympic Committee have remained tight lipped on the issue. Trimetazidine is a banned substance that has been on WADA’s list since 2014 and it is very difficult for an athlete to take this substance by accident. Trimetazidine is used to increase blood floor to the heart and can cause fluctuations in blood pressure.
Russia Could Lose Team Gold Medal
If it is indeed Kamila Valieva who tested positive, then Russia will be stripped of their gold medal and Valieva will not be able to take part in any further events during the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
A Russian sports channel claimed that a very small amount of trimetazidine was found over two months ago. The small amount would not do anything to enhance performance and showed that there was no deliberate doping carried out by the teenager.