Olympic scandal about 15-year skating miracle?

The award ceremony has already been postponed

Created: 02/11/2022, 05:10

By: Alexander Kaindl

Doping and the Olympics: a topic that keeps making headlines.

Now Russia is causing a stir again.

Beijing – The Winter Olympics are underway, and athletes from all over the world have been fighting for medals since February 4th.

From a German point of view, there have already been a number of successes to celebrate: “Team D” currently (as of February 10, 10 a.m.) has won five gold and three silver medals, second place in the medal table.

Only Norway is currently better.

After a lightning start, things calmed down a bit for the Russian team.

The delegation, which started under a neutral flag again because of the doping scandal in Sochi in 2014 and the subsequent ban from Russia, has now slipped to ninth place.

The medal ranking is by no means Russia's biggest problem at the moment.

It is much more about a possible new doping scandal.

What happened?

Olympia 2022: First doping scandal?

15-year-old apparently tested positive

It's about skating miracle Kamila Valiewa.

She is only 15 years old, but suddenly she is in the international spotlight.

First of all because of her outstanding performances in these games, because: On Monday she had won gold with the team.

But there was a lot of excitement about the medal because the award ceremony had not taken place the following day.

Why?

Because of an "open legal issue", as IOC spokesman Mark Adams had explained.

Behind this is apparently a possible doping case!

Valiyeva is said to have tested positive for the stimulant trimetazidine before the games.

The industry

reported on the case, and the Russian newspapers

and

also named their own sources.

According to

, European champion Valiyeva, who is also the favorite for the individual competition (from February 15), has been found to have a “small amount” of the drug, which is prescribed to prevent angina.

Olympia: Russia wins figure skating - but the award ceremony has still not taken place

The favored Russian team had clearly prevailed over the USA and Japan.

In addition to Valiewa, Mark Kondratiuk (both singles), Anastasia Mischina and Alexander Galljamow (pairs) as well as Wictoria Sinizina and Nikita Kazalapow (ice dance) contributed to the success.

The German team ended up in ninth place.

Adams said Thursday he would not engage in "speculation."

That is not appropriate in a legal case.

"We have to wait - sorry," said the IOC spokesman.

The committee also asked for "patience and understanding" from all the athletes involved who have been waiting for their medals since the competition on Monday.

Russia and doping: Explosive history of the Olympics

Doping and Russia - it would not be the first case at the Olympic Winter Games.

In 2018, the same substance was discovered in the Russian bobsledder Nadescha Sergeeva in Pyeongchang, which according to WADA can increase endurance and blood flow.

Above all, of course, is the doping scandal at the home games in 2014. According to a report, the doping agency assumes that more than 1,000 Russian athletes have doped themselves or have benefited from the state's systematic doping cover-up.

Kamila Valiyeva has tested positive for a banned substance.

© SNA / Imago

Subsequently, Russia was banned from the Olympic Games, but Russian athletes who were proven not to have had anything to do with the scandal eight years ago are allowed to start under a neutral flag.

The Russian team was already called the “Russian Olympic Committee” in Tokyo in 2021.

also read

IOC: Reports on doping case in figure skating "speculation"

In the whirl of the further open medal award in the Olympic team competition for figure skaters, the IOC has described reports of a doping case as "speculation".

IOC: Reports on doping case in figure skating "speculation"

Ski jumping team without Olympic champions Freund and Wellinger

The two Olympic ski jumping champions Severin Freund and Andreas Wellinger have not been nominated for the German squad for the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Instead, Constantin Schmid and Pius Paschke complete the quintet of national coach Stefan Horngacher.

The 22-year-old Schmid and the 31-year-old Paschke will receive the last two free squad positions in the team, as the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) announced on Sunday.

Ski jumping team without Olympic champions Freund and Wellinger

President Vladimir Putin had again sharply criticized the sanctions before the start of the Winter Games and denied a state-supported doping program.

"The practice of collective punishment for offenses committed by individuals is unacceptable," said Putin. "Russia is and remains committed to traditional Olympic values." After the suspicion against Valiyeva, these statements now appear in a completely different light.

Back to sport: the German national ice hockey team starts the tournament at 2:10 p.m.

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