Russian skater Valieva trains at Olympics as doping reports swirl
Russian skater Valieva trains at Olympics as doping reports swirl
Teenage Russian figure skating sensation Kamila Valieva, who is at the centre of a reported doping scandal at the Beijing Olympics, trained briefly Friday even as doubt surrounded her participation at the Games.
The 15-year-old, who led Russia to team gold earlier this week, tested positive for a banned heart medication before the Games, Russian media have reported.
The positive test could cost Russia the team gold and also threatens Valieva's participation in the individual event that starts on Tuesday.
Wearing a dark green top, Valieva practised only briefly on the ice in the Chinese capital on Friday and tried out a couple of jumps before ending her session, an AFP photographer at the scene said.
Russian athletes are competing in the Beijing Games as the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) after the country was banned because of a massive state-sponsored doping scheme at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
The sample in question was obtained before Valieva won the European championship last month, Russia's RBC newspaper reported late Wednesday.
The drug detected is trimetazidine, a metabolic agent that is prescribed for the treatment of angina and vertigo, according to Kommersant newspaper.
Trimetazidine is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency because it can increase blood flow efficiency and help endurance.
The reports said the test result was the reason that the team medals ceremony was removed from its scheduled slot on Tuesday.
Valieva produced the first quadruple jump ever by a woman in Olympic competition as the Russians won the gold medal in the team competition with the United States taking silver and Japan bronze, but the ceremony did not take place as planned.
The Russian figure skating federation says that Valieva has not been suspended and International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams said on Thursday that an "active legal case" was under way concerning the medal ceremony and so he could not comment on the reports.
J.P.Hofmann--MP
