Russian curler may be stripped of bronze after drug test probe
THE Court of Arbitration for Sport’s (CAS) anti-doping division has confirmed it has begun proceedings against Russian curler Alexander Krushelnitsky after he allegedly tested positive for the banned substance Meldonium.
Krushelnitsky, who has left Pyeongchang after claiming the bronze medal in the mixed doubles alongside his wife Anastasia Bryzgalova, is awaiting the results of his B sample before a violation can be confirmed.
The substance is the same one Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova tested positive for in 2016, resulting in a 15-month ban.
It increases blood flow, improves exercise capacity and is favoured by endurance athletes, although its benefits in curling are thought to be at a minimum.
The news could come as a major blow to Russia’s hopes of rebuilding its reputation following the state-sponsored doping scandal, with the nation banned from the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Russian competitors have been allowed to compete providing they have a clean drug history, under the ‘Olympic Athletes from Russia’ (OAR) banner.
A CAS statement read: “The CAS ADD (anti-doping division) has initiated a procedure involving the athlete Alexander Krushelnitsky (mixed curling; OAR).”
The news was met with bemusement by Russian curling president Dmitry Svishchev. He said: “I have known these guys for many years. Only a crazy person takes banned substances before a competition. It’s a strange story. It raises a lot of questions.”
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said in a statement: “On the one hand it is extremely disappointing when prohibited substances might have been used, but on the other it shows the effectiveness of the anti-doping system at the Games.”
Krushelnitsky has not responded to a request for comment, and if he and wife Bryzgalova are stripped of their bronze medal, Norway will inherit third.