PYEONGCHANG, South Korea: Krushelnitsky, who won bronze with his wife in the mixed doubles at the Winter Olympics on Tuesday, is suspected of testing positive for meldonium. Traces of meldonium, a heart medicine that increases blood flow and has been banned from most sports since 2016, were found in a routine urine sample. A second test will be conducted to confirm the finding, according to a statement from an organization representing Olympic Athletes From Russia (OAR), the designation given to more than 160 Russian athletes who had been cleared to compete at the Games under that name.
Meldonium caused confusion among Russian athletes when it was added to the list of banned substances by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Scores of athletes, including the five-time Grand Slam tennis champion Maria Sharapova, tested positive for it.
An anti-doping case has been opened against Russian medal-winning curler Alexander Krushelnitsky, says the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
CAS opened a case against the 25-year-old following a request from the International Olympic Committee (IOC). “On the one hand it is extremely disappointing when prohibited substances might have been used, but on the other hand it shows the effectiveness of the anti-doping system at the Games, which protects the rights of all the clean athletes,” the International Olympic Committee said in a statement Sunday.
Russian curling federation president Dmitry Svishchev confirmed to Reuters that the team’s curlers had been tested on 22 January, before flying out to South Korea, and that the tests returned then were negative.
“I have known these guys for many years,” Svishchev said. “Only a crazy person takes banned substances before a competition, before the Olympics. It’s a strange story. It raises a lot of questions.”
