Russian Olympic athlete involved in meldonium doping case
18 Feb 2018 5:35 PM GMT
Pyeongchang: A Russian athlete at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics has been implicated in a doping case involving the banned substance meldonium, a source close to the situation said on Sunday.
It comes after a spokesman for the Olympic Athletes from Russia said one of its competitors committed a "possible violation of anti-doping rules", according to Russian media.
If the case is confirmed, it will come before the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which is handling doping matters at the Olympics and has an ad hoc division in Pyeongchang.
Russia are banned from the Olympics over systemic doping, but 168 Russian athletes deemed clean are competing in Pyeongchang under the neutral banner of Olympic Athletes from Russia.
A fresh doping case would be deeply embarrassing and could affect deliberations on whether to lift Russia's ban in time for the Pyeongchang closing ceremony.
"Today the headquarters of our delegation received an official notice from the IOC regarding a possible violation of anti-doping rules," Konstantin Vybornov, spokesman for the Russian team said.
"We are not naming the athlete or the discipline until the B-sample results, which are expected within approximately 24 hours."
The International Olympic Committee suspended Russia in December after revelations of a widespread and highly orchestrated doping conspiracy, which first emerged before the Rio 2016 Summer Games.
Investigations found that the doping plot, straddling several years, culminated when Russia hosted the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, where they topped the medals table.
Russian athletes in Pyeongchang are under strict instructions to honour the "letter and spirit" of guidelines governing their participation, including not waving the Russian flag.
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