EXPLAINER: The drug behind Russia's Olympic skating case
BEIJING (AP) — The first big doping case at the Beijing Olympics involves one of its biggest stars. And it seems far from straightforward, not least because she is just 15 years old and has protections as a minor in the anti-doping rule book.
The country at the center of it? Russia. Again.
Here's a look at the drug that Kamila Valieva of the Russia Olympic Committee — the name under which Russia is competing because of previous doping violations — is suspected of taking, and how the situation might play out in coming days.
WHAT IS THE DRUG?
The medication trimetazidine is a metabolic agent that helps prevent angina attacks and treats the symptoms of vertigo, according to the European Union’s medicines agency. It can increase blood flow efficiency and improve endurance — both crucial to any high-end athletic performance.
It is on the prohibited list managed by the World Anti-Doping Agency in the category of “hormone and metabolic modulators.”
PREVIOUS DOPING CASES
The most famous case of trimetazidine in sports doping involved Chinese star swimmer Sun Yang.
The three-time Olympic champion served a three-month ban in 2014 in a ruling that was initially not published by China’s anti-doping agency.
Because it was Sun’s first doping offense, he was punished more severely for his second, and more high-profile, offense of refusing to cooperate with a sample collections team at his home in China.
Russian bobsledder Nadezhda Sergeeva tested positive for trimetazidine at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. She was disqualified from the two-woman bob event and served an eight-month ban.
WHO WILL HANDLE THE CASE?
The athlete-testing program for the Olympics is run by the International Testing Agency, based in the IOC’s home city...
