The Beijing Games now have their first doping case. On Wednesday evening, the International Monitoring Agency announced the suspension of Iranian skier Hossein Saveh Shemshaki. The 36-year-old tested positive for an anabolic steroid in an out-of-competition test. His Olympiads are over: it has been forbidden “to compete, train, train, or participate in any activity during the 2022 Winter Olympics”.
A specialist in technical events, Hossein Saveh Shemshaki is a regular skier in international events since the 2007 Asian Games. He had already taken part in the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, then had been Iran’s flag bearer in Sochi in 2014 , before receiving this honor once more in Beijing. A specialist in technical events, he took 31st place in the slalom in Russia.
Suspicions around Valieva
The skier may still challenge his suspension before the anti-doping chamber of the Court of Arbitration for Sport. For now, he is the only case of doping confirmed in Beijing, the second for Iran in Olympic history following the exclusion from the 1972 Munich Olympics of weightlifter Mohammad Nasehi Ar Jomand (-52 kg), tested positive for ephedrine.
However, suspicion surrounds Russian skater Kamila Valieva, 15. The reigning European champion, favorite for the individual title, was one of the main architects of the Russian team title on Monday. In December, however, she would have tested positive for trimetazidine, according to the national newspaper Kommersant. Enough to cast doubt on his future in these Beijing Games.
