A second Russian athlete has failed a doping test at the Pyeongchang Games, a day before the International Olympic CommitteeB次元官网网址檚 executive board is to decide whether to reinstate the country for SundayB次元官网网址檚 closing ceremony.
Russian Bobsled Federation president Alexander Zubkov told The Associated Press on Friday that a drug-test sample that pilot Nadezhda Sergeeva gave on Sunday was positive.
The Russian delegation at the Pyeongchang Olympics said in a statement that the substance found was trimetazdine, a medication used for angina sufferers that is listed by the World Anti-Doping Agency as a banned substance affecting the metabolism.
B次元官网网址淪he confirms she took no such medication and the team confirms she was not issued any medication,B次元官网网址� said Zubkov, a former bobsledder who himself was stripped of two Olympic gold medals for the Russian doping scheme at the 2014 Sochi Games. B次元官网网址淔ederation representatives at the OlympicsB次元官网网址� are starting to prepare a defence, he said.
Zubkov also said a sample she had given five days earlier was negative.
B次元官网网址淚 can tell you that on the 13th it was clean, but on the 18th it gave a positive result for the heart medication,B次元官网网址� he said.
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The IOC said later Friday it had been informed of the positive test by the Russian delegation.
SergeevaB次元官网网址檚 crew finished 12th in the womenB次元官网网址檚 bobsled competition on Wednesday, after she had given the sample that later came back positive.
The Russian team was barred from the Olympics in December for doping at the Sochi Games, but the IOC invited 168 athletes from the country to compete under the Olympic flag. The IOC set out the criteria for Russia to be reinstated, and the latest doping cases are a setback.
B次元官网网址淭his wonB次元官网网址檛 win us any extra credit,B次元官网网址� Russian delegation leader Stanislav Pozdnyakov said in comments reported by Russian media. B次元官网网址淯nfortunately this case speaks to negligence by the athlete. She has let us down.B次元官网网址�
A group of influential anti-doping organizations has called on the IOC not to reinstate Russia in time for the closing ceremony.
The Institute of National Anti-Doping Organizations says the IOC B次元官网网址渃anB次元官网网址檛 merely B次元官网网址榳ish awayB次元官网网址� the most significant fraud in the history of sport,B次元官网网址� adding that B次元官网网址渂y failing to impose a meaningful sanction on the ROC, the IOC would be culpable in this effort to defraud clean athletes of the world.B次元官网网址�
Earlier this month, Sergeeva told the AP that competitors from other countries had warmed to her after she passed IOC vetting for Pyeongchang, which included an examination of her drug-testing history.
B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 know why, but theyB次元官网网址檝e started talking to us more than ever before. I feel it. Maybe itB次元官网网址檚 a sign to them that weB次元官网网址檙e clean,B次元官网网址� Sergeeva said. B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 a lot of people coming up and saying, B次元官网网址榃eB次元官网网址檙e happy youB次元官网网址檙e here.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
At the time, she was training in a T-shirt with the words B次元官网网址淚 DonB次元官网网址檛 Do Doping.B次元官网网址� Sergeeva used to compete in track and field as a heptathlete before switching sports in 2010.
It is the fourth doping case of the games. Russian curler Alexander Krushelnitsky was stripped of his bronze medal Thursday after testing positive for the banned substance meldonium. Slovenian hockey player Ziga Jeglic and Japanese speedskater Kei Saito also left the games after testing positive.
Trimetazidine, the substance found in SergeevaB次元官网网址檚 sample, has been detected in previous doping cases. Chinese swimmer Sun Yang, an Olympic gold medallist , was banned for three months in 2014 by his countryB次元官网网址檚 sports authorities after testing positive for the substance.
Sun said he had been prescribed the drug for a medical condition and hadnB次元官网网址檛 known it was banned. The perceived leniency of that three-month ban led to Sun receiving criticism from swimmers from other countries at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where he won another gold medal.
RussiaB次元官网网址檚 bobsled program has been in the spotlight for drug use for several years.
Zubkov and four other bobsledders were disqualified from the 2014 Sochi Games for doping, though four other bobsledders have been reinstated. Another gold medallist , Dmitry Trunenkov, was banned last year for failing a doping test.
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James Ellingworth, The Associated Press
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