A startling report claims that Kamila Valieva, the 15-year-old Russian skater at the center of a doping scandal at the Winter Olympics, had three different chemicals in her system when she failed a drugs test last December.
According to the New York Times, the Stockholm laboratory that analyzed Kamila Valieva’s sample showed indications of two more cardiac medications that aren’t on the restricted list: hypoxen and L-Carnitine, in addition to testing positive for the banned angina drug trimetazidine.
The New York Times referenced documents filed in Valieva’s recent arbitration court, which were validated by a witness.
‘It’s a trifecta of chemicals – two of which are allowed and one of which is banned,’ said Travis Tygart, Chief Executive Officer of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, in the report.
The benefits of such a combination, according to Tygart, ‘appear to be directed at enhancing endurance, lowering tiredness, and promoting improved oxygen efficiency.’
The two other substances are said to have been indicated on Valieva’s doping control form.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport authorized Valieva to compete in the Winter Olympics in Beijing on Monday, a decision that provoked anger.
The girl tested positive on December 25 at her national championships, but the results were not released until February 8, after she had already competed in the team event at the Beijing Olympics.
The CAS panel said that a ban might inflict the young ice skater “irreparable harm” in the long run, citing the delay as one of the reasons for the decision.
‘The panel was concerned that if she was not sanctioned or had a very low sentence when all procedures were completed, the temporary suspensions would have caused considerable damage,’ they stated.
Valieva overcame her Olympic doping disgrace on Tuesday by dominating the women’s competition with a passionate performance that left her in contention for a gold medal.
Valieva has maintained that her positive drug test was caused by a mix-up with her grandfather’s heart medicine, according to an International Olympic Committee official.
According to the New York Times, Valieva’s grandfather gave a video evidence for the hearing in which he claimed to have used trimetazidine on a regular basis when he had ‘attacks.’
As part of his evidence, he also showed a packet of the drug to the video camera.