Winter Olympics: Russian media say figure skater Kamila Valieva, 15, failed drugs test after medal ceremony delayed for ‘legal reasons’
- Ceremony to present Valieva and her teammates with their Olympic gold medals postponed for unexplained ‘legal reasons’
- ‘You can bet your bottom dollar we are doing everything that this situation can be resolved as soon as possible,’ IOC spokesman says
Russian media reported on Wednesday that 15-year-old figure skater Kamila Valieva had tested positive for a banned drug, after the ceremony to present her and her teammates with their Olympic gold medals was postponed for unexplained legal reasons.
Newspapers RBC and Kommersant named the drug as Trimetazidine, which is used to treat angina.
The news broke late at night in Beijing, where Valieva was part of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) ensemble that won the figure skating team event on Monday ahead of the United States and Japan.
Reuters attempted to reach the ROC chef de mission for comment but his phone was not answering. The ROC earlier declined to comment on reports that Valieva had returned a positive test.
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Trimetazidine is listed on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) list of metabolic modulators, and is banned in and out of competition.