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Russian Skater Blames Grandpa's Heart Medication Amid Doping Scandal—And Nobody's Buying It
The ongoing scandal involving Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva shows no sign of slowing down. While Valieva is the overwhelming favorite to take home gold medals, part of that may be due to the accusations of performance enhancing drugs.
Now her explanation for the situation had people really questioning the narrative.
She claims her positive drug test occurred because she accidentally drank from the same glass as her grandfather.
The latest in the Kamila Valieva saga:https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/beijing/2022/02/15/kamila-valieva-positive-drug-test-grandfathers-medication/6779576001/\u00a0\u2026— Tom Schad (@Tom Schad) 1644907412
News recently came out that Valieva had failed a drug test on December 25th. However, the result wasn’t known to the public until last week.
Despite testing positive for performance enhancing drugs, Valieva was allowed to skate, leading to two high level performances.
Part of the reason the Court of Arbitration of Sport allowed her to skate was her lawyers’ explanation of the accidental ingestion of the drug.
According to Denis Oswald, a member of the IOC and Swiss lawyer:
“Her argument was this contamination which happened with a product her grandfather was taking.”
More specifically, Valieva is taking care of her grandfather, who is taking the drug trimetazidine for heart issues.
Anna Kozmenko, Valieva’s lawyer, told a Russian Anti-Doping Agency there was a possibility of accidental contamination, such as:
“For example, grandfather drank something from a glass, saliva got in, this glass was somehow later used by the athlete.”
The internet was more than a little skeptical of this possibility.
Valieva's defense was that she was taking care of her grandfather and they drank from the same glass. I am reminded of the time I told my parents that a bead fell off of my dresser and into my nose. #KamilaValieva— The Skating Lesson (@The Skating Lesson) 1644851687
do they really want us to believe that kamila valieva drank from the same glass as her grandfather, in a pandemic, when she's an elite athlete?— \u064b (@\u064b) 1644827167
How does one say, "Sure, Jan" in Russian?— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@Mrs. Betty Bowers) 1644942151
: Kamila Valieva\u2019s defence of \u201cdrinking from her grandfather\u2019s glass of water\u201d (who supposedly takes the banned heart meds) is so egregiously bad that even I\u2019m beginning to question how complicit she might be in all of this.— Caitlin Mostoway Parker (@Caitlin Mostoway Parker) 1644861445
Kamila Valieva, the Russian figure skater says her positive drug test was caused by a mix-up with her grandfather's heart medication! Give us a Break! #Russia CHEATS at everything & cant compete under their name at the #Olympics 4 prior doping violations! Kick #KamilaValieva OUT!— Dan Pereira (@Dan Pereira) 1644965906
Kamila Valieva claims her positive doping result was caused by her (a 15yo) and her coach accidentally forcing her to take her grandfather\u2019s heart medication\u2026and the IOC believed that sh*t?— Sgt Joker (@Sgt Joker) 1644927496
On top of the strange situation of Valieva sharing a glass with her grandfather, there are other reasons to doubt this explanation.
Valieva’s lawyers didn’t provide evidence that her grandfather is taking this heart medication. And trimetazidine is a coated pill that dissolves in the intestines, so passing it on from saliva would be next to impossible.
Valieva’s situation has been compared to another Olympic athlete and used to point out the racist double standard in the games.
American track and field sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson was denied the chance to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics after she tested positive for THC.
Trimetazidine and THC are both prohibited substances, despite the fact that cannabis isn’t a performance enhancing drug like trimetazidine. However, despite this, Valieva was allowed to compete.
Richardson herself said:
“Can we get a solid answer on the difference of her situation and mines? My mother died and I can’t run and was also favored to place top 3.”
“The only difference I see is I’m a Black young lady.”
The ruling turned the competition into a joke.
Eteri Tutberidze has announced she is now coaching Kamila Valieva's grandfather, he plans to compete on the grand prix series next season and currently has been landing quadruple axel in practice sessions— Sk8fanKathy (@Sk8fanKathy) 1644951348
kamila valieva\u2019s grandfather rn:pic.twitter.com/cXfEAiwwFK— t\u26f8\ud83d\udc8c (@t\u26f8\ud83d\udc8c) 1644831242
yeah and her dog probably ate her homework toohttps://twitter.com/thedailybeast/status/1493621154581553155\u00a0\u2026— Hannah Bisson (@Hannah Bisson) 1644952649
I feel so bad for Kamila she has to live with her grandfather and apparently they only have one glass in the house so they have to share it— Scott Kremkow (@Scott Kremkow) 1644949430
pic.twitter.com/16omQeuH0g— Yup (@Yup) 1644954626
Literally my face when I read that— Films and Anime!!\ud83e\udd29 (@Films and Anime!!\ud83e\udd29) 1644904773
The free skate competition to determine the medals will happen later this week. The IOC has said that if Valieva places, there won’t be a medal ceremony until their investigation of the situation is complete.