Russian Skater Kamila Valieva Tested Positive for Banned Drug Before Beijing Games
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Kamila Valieva, the youngest athlete in the Beijing Olympics 2022 has tested positive for a banned drug. The 15-year-old has been using a banned substance, which is used for curing chest pains. She has surprised the audience with her incredible performance in the games.
Kamila Valieva Tests Positive For Banned Drug
The Russian figure skater, Kamila Valieva has tested positive for trimetazidine. The athlete made her Olympic debut this year. The Russian skater became the first woman to land a quad at the Winter Olympics on February 7. Moreover, she broke three more world records in the short program, the free skate, and the total score in her debut performance.
Kamila Valieva’s performance was earning Russia the third Olympic gold medal in the Winter Olympics of 2022. However, she tested positive for the banned heart drug hours after her performance. The same was reported by the Russian newspaper RBC. The sample for the same was found in Estonia, during the European championship last month. Her performance cemented her position as the leader of Russia’s “quad squad” of elite women figure skaters in the Olympics.
The Russian figure skaters who won the team event at the Beijing Olympics on Monday have still not received their gold medals, with two Russian newspapers reporting that 15-year-old Olympic star Kamila Valieva had tested positive for a banned drug https://t.co/aDzpxGeQrl 1/5 pic.twitter.com/G3hCJOcpxW
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 9, 2022
According to the European Union’s medicines agency, trimetazidine is a metabolic agent that prevents angina attacks and treats vertigo. The World Anti-Doping Agency forbids it for its ability to increase endurance and blood flow efficiency.
Possible Aftermaths
Russia has not commented regarding the discovery as of now. Her appearance at the games as well as the practices gives the impression that the federation is not looking forward to eliminating her. Olga Ermolina, the spokeswoman of the Russian figure skating federation reported that they have not suspended Kamila Valieva. However, her chances of winning the individual competition starting Tuesday are threatened as she tested positive. Minors have protection from identification under the World Anti-Doping Code, which complicates the case. There is no information available about whether Valieva applied for a therapeutic use exemption or has a history of heart issues.
Morisi Kvitelashvili of Georgia, a fellow skater who trains with Kamila Valieva has reported that she is doing fine and is healthy. The IOC spokesman Mark Adams has opened up regarding the matter. He said that the federation acknowledges that the athletes have won medals. He further added that there needs to be a legal consultation between Olympic officials and the ISU. Moreover, he revealed that it is not appropriate to talk about an ongoing case.
The same could cost Russia the gold medal from the team competition. Neither the International Olympic Committee nor the International Testing Agency, which oversees the Olympic drug-testing program, have commented on the case.
In the event of disqualification of the Russian team, the U.S. team would win gold for the first time in the event. The silver medal would go to Japan, and the bronze would go to Canada, which placed fourth.
The decision about the matter is yet to be revealed.
Kamila Valieva – A Little Insight
Kamila Valieva was born on April 26, 2006, in Kazan, Russia. She has never shared the identity of her parents. However, she has many pictures with her younger sister, Alisa Pesbalova. Alisa Pesbalova is also an aspiring skater. Kamila Valieva is the great-granddaughter of Zinnatullin Nasretdin Zinnatullovich. Zinnatullin Nasretdin Zinnatullovich happened to be a gunner at the infantry division of the 2nd Ukrainian Front.
She has been training for this performance from a very young age at Moscow’s Sports School of the Olympic Reserve, commonly known as ‘Moskvich’. Her parents introduced her to gymnastics and ballet in her childhood. However, she did not find passion in both of them as gymnastics seemed quite painful and ballet seemed to bore her. She moved to Moscow with her mother when she was 6 years old. There, she discovered that her passion lay in skating. Following this, she began her training at Moskvich. She enrolled herself at the Sambo-70′ Sports School in Moscow at the age of 12. Moreover, she started training under renowned coach Eteri Tutberidze. Eteri Tutberidz was the coach for Alina Zagitova and world champion Evgenia Medvedeva. Alina Zagitova was the Olympic champion in 2014.
Under his training, Kamila Valieva won the ISU Junior Grand Prix and World Junior Championship. Eteri Tutberidze’s guidance and training made Kamila Valieva the Russian national champion in adult figure skating at the age of 13.
Her family as well as her coach have also remained silent regarding the drug scandal.
Other Cases Of Drug Scandals
The most famous case of trimetazidine involved Chinese star swimmer Sun Yang. Sun Yang was a three-time Olympic champion. In the event of testing positive, she served a three-month ban.
Moreover, Russian bobsledder Nadezhda Sergeeva also tested positive for the same drug at the 2018 Olympics held in Pyeongchang. She served an eight-month ban post her disqualification from the event.
The Iranian skier, Hossein Saveh Shemshaki tested positive for an anabolic steroid during the Games. The authorities suspended her on a provisional basis on Wednesday.
Moreover, when it comes to Russian athletes, they have a history of testing positive with banned drugs. The Russian skater, Elena Berezhnaya tested positive for pseudoephedrine. The authorities stripped her of her gold medal. Another skater Alexandra Koshevaya tested positive for torasemide. She had to serve a 2-year ban for the same. Moreover, Maria Sotskova is serving a 10-year-ban although she has announced her retirement. She had forged a medical certificate in the event of a doping violation.
After being banned from the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi due to a massive state-sponsored doping scheme, Russian athletes compete in Beijing under the name “Russian Olympic Committee” (ROC).
Riddha Kundu
I'm Riddha Kundu, a 23-year-old aspiring Chartered Accountant from Kolkata, and I'm passionate about writing contents.
