Figure skater Kamila Valieva: failed drug test may be due to grandfather's heart medicine

During the meeting of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Russian figure skater Kamilla Valieva said that the banned substance could have got to her body due to the medications her grandfather was taking.

Valieva clarified that the banned trimetazidine could have been among the skater's grandfather's heart medications that he took.  This was reported by Reuters, referring to the words of the head of the IOC disciplinary commission, Denis Oswald.

The athlete claimed that she did not take the drug on her own, but it ended up in her body due to the fact of contamination with a product her grandfather was taking.

As a result, the Court of Arbitration for Sport allowed Valieva to participate in the Olympic competitions.  However, the awards ceremony for the Russian figure skating team, which won first place, will not take place.  The IOC emphasized that if Valieva takes a prize in a single program, then there will be no official awards again.

We should remind our readers that Valieva’s positive doping test was reported on December 25, 2021.  But the IOC became aware of this incident only after the victory of the Russian team of figure skaters in the team competition.

The athlete received a temporary suspension, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport allowed her to the Olympics.

Trimetazidine has been banned in sports since 2015.  In ordinary life, the medicine is used for patients suffering from cardiac problems.