- Reports of a positive drug test from one member
of the gold-medal-winning Russian figure skating team
is delaying the medal ceremony at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Russian news outlet RBC reported
that star Russian skater Kamila Valieva tested positive
for a banned heart medication called trimetazidine.
The drug, which improves cardiac function
in patients with heart disease,
is on the world doping agency's list of banned substances.
Valieva, a 15-year-old who entered the Olympics
as a gold medal favorite after winning
the 2022 European Championships,
became the first woman to land a quadruple
jump at the Olympics during the team program.
An IOC spokesman on Thursday reiterated
that a legal process was delaying the ceremony.
The US placed second in this event, and Japan placed third.
The Canadian team came in a distant fourth place
and would potentially receive the bronze medals
if the ROC is disqualified.
Russian athletes have a long history
of doping scandals at the Olympics.
For the third Games in a row,
Russian athletes are not representing their country,
but ROC, the Russian Olympic Committee,
due to ongoing doping sanctions.
Russia's name, flag,
and anthem are not allowed at the competition.
Russian athletes competed as ROC
at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea,
and the 2021 Summer Games in Tokyo.
And it's not just the Olympics.
In 2019, the World Anti-Doping Agency banned Russia
from sending any athletes to international sports
competitions until December 2022.
These bans stem from 2015, when an independent commission
led by the doping commission found a deeply rooted culture
of cheating in Russian competitive sports.
The New York Times published a testimony
from Grigory Rodchenkov,
the director of Russia's anti-doping laboratory
at the time, who confessed that dozens of Russian athletes
were part of a widespread doping plan at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.