(CNN) — The controversy surrounding the failed doping control of the Russian figure skater Kamila Valievawhich was made in December but did not come to light until the Beijing Winter Olympicscontinues to delay the medal ceremony of the figure skating team event.
This Friday, the International Testing Agency (ITA, for its acronym in English) confirmed that Valieva had tested positive for the banned heart drug trimetazidine, commonly used to treat people with angina pectoris.
The failed analysis came to light during the Winter Olympics and after Valieva and the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) won gold in the team figure skating event ahead of the United States and Japan. It is not yet clear if the gold medal will be revoked.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) studied the case and this Monday decided that Valieva can participate in the next event, the women’s individual short program next Tuesday, in which she is the favorite to win gold.
At that hearing, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) challenged the Russian Anti-Doping Agency’s (RUSADA) decision to lift Valieva’s provisional suspension, according to the ITA.
In response to the controversy, the IOC said Valieva had “repeatedly passed doping tests” while already in Beijing, adding that it is taking steps to keep Valieva’s “honestly earned” gold.
What is trimetazidine?
According to the European Union’s medicines agency (EMA), trimetazidine “is a medicine used to prevent angina attacks, which are sudden pains in the chest, jaw and back caused by physical exertion, due to reduced of blood flow to the heart.
It appears on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) 2021 Banned Substances List in the category of “hormonal and metabolic modulators,” a class of drugs banned by WADA due to evidence that athletes use them to enhance their performance.
“This is an interesting option to be used in this way because I think a lot of times, people might think: to improve your performance, you would use a stimulant or something that increases your heart rate or improves your metabolism,” Dr. Elizabeth said Thursday. Murray, a pediatric emergency physician at the University of Rochester Medical Center, told CNN’s Early Start.
“But what this drug does is actually make your heart work more efficiently. It doesn’t change your blood pressure very much and it doesn’t change your heart rate.”
“An athlete wouldn’t necessarily be nervous or feel that different, but theoretically they would be able to perform at a higher level for longer. It would increase their endurance, potentially.”
The Beijing Winter Olympics are held from February 4 to 20.
The most famous case of doping with trimetazidine is that of the Chinese swimmer Sun Yangwhich was suspended for three months in 2014 after testing positive for this drug.
The metabolic modulators banned have been used by cyclists, weightlifters, boxers, wrestlers, skiers, and other athletes from dozens of countries including Russia, Poland, Colombia, Belgium, and Germany.
According to Dr. Murray, trimetazidine would not normally be given to children “unless there is a very good reason.”
What happens now?
The ITA, which runs the anti-doping program for the Beijing Winter Olympics, said Valieva’s sample was taken at the Russian Figure Skating Championships in St. Petersburg on December 25.
However, it took until February 8 for a Swedish laboratory to report that it had detected a banned substance, a day after the ROC won gold in the Beijing team event.
The Russian anti-doping agency immediately suspended Valieva on a provisional basis, automatically banning the athlete from all sports.
Valieva challenged the suspension on February 9, and in a hearing held the same day, the Russian anti-doping agency decided to lift the provisional ban, allowing Valieva to continue competing in the Olympics, according to the ITA.
IOC spokesman Mark Adams said Friday that the governing body wanted to “expedite” the case.
“We hope that the whole thing can be expedited in the interest of all athletes, not just the Russians, but also all athletes who compete,” Adams said.
What is Russia’s position?
On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there was a “misunderstanding” about Valieva’s positive and offered his support to the figure skater and the IOC.
“We have great respect for WADA and the IOC,” Peskov told reporters in a conference call.
“They are dealing with this situation right now. Let’s not rush, let’s wait for the IOC’s proceedings and decision to be concluded. For now, we all support our Kamila Valieva and wish her success.”
Peskov continued: “In any case, we absolutely and fully support our Kamila Valieva. We urge everyone to support her. And we say to Kamila: ‘Kamila, don’t hide your face! You are Russian! Walk proud wherever you go and Above all, keep performing and winning!”
Russian athletes cannot compete in the Olympics with the name of your country due to IOC and WADA sanctions as a result of the country’s “systemic manipulation” of anti-doping rules during the 2014 Sochi Games.
In February 2021, the IOC announced that Russian athletes would compete as neutrals under the ROC banner at the Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 Olympic Games.
Rebecca Wright, Helen Regan, Nathan Hodge, Aleks Klosok, Anna Chernova, Christine Romans, and Laura Jarrett contributed reporting.