Kamila Valieva, a 15-year-old figure skater from Russia is on the headlines at the Beijing Winter Olympics for two reasons. On one hand, the teen became the first woman ever to land a quadruple jump at the Olympics on Monday and win a team figure skating gold. On the other hand, there are incoming reports of a failed dope test that was performed back in December whose reports have just arrived, becoming the youngest Olympian ever to test positive.
As reported by Reuters, the International Testing Agency (ITA) states that Valieva underwent a dope test back on 25th December which was conducted by Russian officials. The results arrived only this week, which reveal that traces of banned heart drug Trimetazidine, also known as TMZ, was found in her urine samples. TMZ is categorized under World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) list of prohibited substances as “hormone and metabolic modulator” since 2014, and both its in and out of competition use is illegal for athletes.
Russia, which has a history of athletes failing drug tests, has termed Valieva’s case as a ‘misunderstanding”. “Hold your head up, you’re a Russian. Go proudly and beat everyone,” government spokesman Dmitry Peskov addressed Valieva, who is set to take part again this Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the figure skater fraternity and fans have shown sympathy with Valieva and have put the blame on the teen’s coaches, medical officials, and authorities for putting Valieva in this situation, expressing shock and awe at how a banned substance like TMZ got into her body.
“It is a shame, and the responsible adults should be banned from the sport forever!!! What they knowingly did to her, if true, cannot be surpassed in inhumanity and makes my athlete’s heart cry infinitely,” German figure-skating icon Katarina Witt stated.
“This entire situation is heartbreaking… she is a minor. The adults around her have completely failed her. They’ve put her in this awful situation and should be punished,” Former US figure skater Adam Rippon who is currently stationed in Beijing as a coach, added.
(more to follow)
