Russian gymnast could miss Rio after flunking test for banned drug

MOSCOW — A Russian gymnast could miss the Olympics after he became the latest to test positive for the banned substance meldonium.

The Russian gymnastics federation said Nikolai Kuksenkov withdrew from the national championships after being informed he failed a drug test.

The news came a day after Kuksenkov, a former European champion, won the Russian title in the individual men’s allaround.

Kuksenkov’s is the first known doping case in gymnastics involving meldonium. More than 20 other Russians across all sports have tested positive for meldonium, which was banned Jan. 1.

Also Saturday, Russian Pavel Kulikov, an Olympic hopeful in skeleton, said in a statement he failed a test for meldonium.