MOSCOW, Feb 11 (Reuters) – The Russian anti-doping agency (Rusada) is investigating skater Kamila Valieva’s coaching staff after she tested positive for trimetazidine, the Tass news agency reported on Friday.
Citing the Rusada, Tass said the results of a test carried out by the 15-year-old athlete on December 25 had been delayed due to cases of coronavirus in the Swedish laboratory analyzing them.
The result was communicated to the Rusada only on Tuesday, resulting in the suspension of the skater, who is participating in the Beijing Olympics and on Monday achieved the first quadruple jump in the history of figure skating at the Olympics.
Tass says the investigation, which aims to identify the circumstances of a possible anti-doping rule violation, is being conducted in the interests of underage Kamila Valieva as a “protected person”.
Trimetazidine is a drug used to treat angina pectoris. It has been banned by global anti-doping authorities since 2014.
Born in Kazan in April 2006, Kamila Valieva was virtually unknown a few months ago before bursting onto the international figure skating scene this season on her senior debut.
She holds the women’s world record in the short program, in the free skate, with a total score of 272.71. Kamila Valieva also won Skate Canada International last October, with a lead of more than 30 points over the second ranked competitor. (Report Maria Tsvetkova and Mark Trevelyan, French version Augustin Turpin, edited by Sophie Louet)
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