Russian curler hit by doping case
A MEDAL-winning Russian curler who passed rigorous vetting to attend the Pyeongchang Olympics was hit by a drugs case yesterday, raising questions over the testing programme and the move to let Russians compete despite systemic doping.
Alexander Krushelnitsky, who won bronze in the mixed doubles curling with his wife Anastasia Bryzgalova, was the subject of a new procedure at the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s (CAS) antidoping division.
The case could have wider repercussions: Olympic officials will decide this week whether to lift a ban on Russia and let its athletes march behind their national flag at Sunday’s closing ceremony.
Krushelnitsky was one of 168 athletes passed as clean and allowed to compete as neutrals after a targeted testing programme going back over some months.
But after both his A and B urine samples tested positive, the CAS will now decide whether there has been a violation and any possible sanctions. No date was set for the hearing.
A source close to the matter said the case involved meldonium, which increases endurance and helps recovery.
Tennis star Maria Sharapova served a 15-month ban after testing positive for meldonium in 2016.
Russia were banned as a team from the Olympics in December after investigations revealed an extensive doping plot culminating at the Sochi 2014 Winter Games, where the hosts topped the medals table. Russian curling federation president Dmitry Svishchev dismissed the case against Krushelnitsky as “a provocation, a subversive act”.
“During his career, since 2015, he gave 11 samples for testing and all of them have been negative,” Svishchev said.
“Imagine what could have happened inside the man’s head to take a [banned] pill ahead of the Olympics?”
Russia’s women’s curling coach Sergei Belanov also insisted that performance-enhancing drugs would make little sense in the sedate ice sport.
The International Olympic Committee said there could be consequences for Russia. –