Kamila Valieva hints grandpa's heart meds were to blame for drug test
Olympic gold ice skater Kamila Valieva claims she may have tested positive for banned drug after sharing glass of water with GRANDFATHER who’s on the medication for heart condition
- Valieva made the bizarre claim while defending herself over doping claims
- She claims the trimetazidine found in her system may have been her grandpa’s
- Drug is a heart medication, but can also be used to enhance performance
- Valieva scooped gold last week; could lose it when an investigation is complete
Scandal-hit Olympic ice skater Kamila Valieva may have failed a doping test because of her grandfather’s heart condition and the medication he takes, it has been claimed.
The evidence was presented to the arbitration panel which heard her plea on Sunday evening and cleared the 15 year-old gold medalist to carry on in the Winter Olympics.
It is claimed that the banned drug entered the teenager’s because she shared a glass of water with her grandfather who has uses medication for a heart condition.
In the daily International Olympic Committee briefing, member Denis Oswald confirmed Valieva’s argument for lifting her suspension was ‘contamination which happened with a product her grandfather was taking’.
The publication Pravda reported the 15-year-old’s mother Alsu Valieva and her lawyer Anna Kozmenko made the suggestion during the skater’s Court of Arbitration for Sport hearing on Sunday.
Valieva shared this photo on Facebook Tuesday, after she was allowed to continue skating
The gold medalist, pictured February 7, claims trimetazidine found in her system may have been ingested accidentally by sharing a glass of water with her grandpa
She was cleared to continue competing at the Winter Olympics on Monday, but awaits a later hearing to determine if she will be found guilty over her positive test last Christmas for the angina drug trimetazidine.
According to Pravda, it was put to CAS that Valieva’s grandfather, who reportedly has an artificial heart, may have left traces of saliva on a grass before the skating sensation subsequently drank from it.
Valieva, meanwhile, has broken her silence by saying the trimetazidine doping scandal has left her tearful and ‘emotionally fatigued’.
She will compete as the heavy favorite in the individual figure skating on Tuesday, following a week in which she has been in the eye of an international storm.
She told Russia’s TV Channel One: ‘These days have been very difficult for me, emotionally. I am happy but emotionally fatigued.
‘That is why these tears of joy and a little bit of sadness. But, of course, I am happy to take part in the Olympic Games. I will do my utmost to represent our country.
‘Apparently, this is a stage I have to live through. I hear so many good wishes. I have seen outdoor banners in Moscow. It is very pleasing, this support is very important for me in this difficult time. I thought I was alone but my closest friends and family will never abandon me.’
Valieva is free to compete in upcoming events, and is favorite to win. She could lose the gold she has already scored depending on the results of an ongoing probe into her behavior
Her comments follow an unsuccessful attempt by the International Olympic Committee, the World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Skating Union to convince the Court of Arbitration for Sport to impose a provisional suspension.
Valieva was instead handed a reprieve and will push for a second win at the Games after inspiring Russia to team gold.
WADA have already said an investigation will be carried out into Valieva’s entourage to establish how she came to test positive, while the IOC have said there will be no medal ceremony for the individual event if Valieva finishes in the top three.
The US has criticized the decision to allow the troubled teenager I continue to compete in Beijing and said it’s prevents a ‘level playing field.’
‘Only difference I see is I’m black’: US track star Sha’Carri Richardson who was banned from Olympics for smoking weed slams double standard
by Alyssa Guzman
US track star Sha’Carri Richardson has slammed the International Olympic Committee for double standards after it allowed Russian figure skating phenomenon Kamila Valieva, 15, to compete despite an ongoing investigation into her failed doping test.
The 21-year-old claimed in a tweet on Monday that ‘not one black athlete’ has been able to compete while under investigation for doping, and that the only difference between ‘her situation and mine’ is the color of their skin.
‘Can we get a solid answer on the difference of her situation and mine?’ she wrote on Twitter on Monday. ‘My mother died and I can’t run and was also favored to place top three. The only difference I see is I’m a black young lady.’
‘It’s all in the skin,’ she continued. ‘[By the way] THC is definitely not a performance enhancer!!!!’
Richardson was disqualified from the 2020 Tokyo Games after testing positive for the marijuana after her test from the Olympic Trials came back. She claimed she smoked marijuana after finding out from a reporter that her biological mother died.
In comparison, Valieva tested positive for banned heart drug, trimetazidine, in December at her national championships. Bizarrely, the results were not reported by anti-doping authorities until last Tuesday after she was the star performer when Russia won gold in the team discipline a day earlier.
A Court of Arbitration for Sport panel ruled on Monday that she will be allowed to compete because she is a protected person under the age of 16.
Trimetazidine is a heart medication drug that can increase blood flow efficiency and improve endurance and it has been abused by some Russian athletes to enhance performance. The drug is banned both in and out-of-competition by WADA.
US track star Sha’Carri Richardson, 21, has slammed the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision to allow Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva, 15, continue to compete in the Olympics after testing positive for trimetazidine (TMZ)
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