Olympic athlete who wore 'I don't do doping' shirt caught doping
Russian bobsledder Nadezhda Sergeeva, 30, failed a doping test, it was confirmed Friday.
That’s definitely not a good look for a country that was banned from competing under its flag at the Pyeongchang Olympics as a penalty for state-run doping for the 2014 Sochi Games.
An even worse look is being photographed in a T-shirt before the Olympics that reads, “I don’t do doping.”
You'll never guess who was busted for doping https://t.co/rpizoJaysn pic.twitter.com/jJP17UZtG3
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) February 23, 2018
While Russia was banned from competing in the Pyeongchang Olympics, the International Olympic Committee did allow the country’s clean athletes to compete under the banner of “Olympic Athletes from Russia.” Russian government officials were not allowed to attend the Olympics, and when OAR athletes win a medal, neither their flag would fly or their national anthem would be played.
This has had a dramatic impact on the medal count for Russian athletes. To date, Russian athletes have won 14 total medals — one gold, five silver and eight bronze. That ranks seventh overall.
At the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia had the most medals of any country with 33 — 13 golds, the most of any country; 11 silvers, the most of any country; and nine bronzes.
But all of the Russian athletes competing this year are clean — or so we thought.
Earlier this week, Russian curler Alexander Krushelnitsky tested positive for meldonium, the same drug that got tennis star Maria Sharapova suspended from competing last year.
For the violation, Krushelnitzky and his partner, who’s also his wife, Anastasia Bryzgalova, were stripped of the bronze medals they won in mixed-doubles curling.
Now a second Russian athlete, Sergeeva, has failed a doping test, despite what her T-shirt said before the Olympics.
Russian Bobsled Federation President Alexander Zubkov told the Associated Press that Sergeeva tested positive for trimetazidine, a heart medication used for angina sufferers. It is listed as a banned substance by the World Anti-Doping Agency for its affect on metabolism.
Zubkov told the AP that “federation representatives at the Olympics” were starting to prepare a defense.
“She confirms she took no such medication and the team confirms she was not issued any medication,” he said.
He said she had given a sample five days prior that was negative.
“I can tell you that on the 13th it was clean, but on the 18th it gave a positive result for the heart medication,” Zubkov said.
Hiding in plain sight didn’t quite work this time around. #nicetry
— Donny Morgan 🧢 (@donman802) February 23, 2018
Sergeeva was the pilot of the Russia women’s bobsled team, which finished well out of medal contention in 12th place.
The IOC was considering reinstating Russia in time for the closing ceremonies, but now these violations call that into question.
“This won’t win us any extra credit,” Russian delegation leader Stanislav Pozdnyakov said, according to the AP. “Unfortunately this case speaks to negligence by the athlete. She has let us down.”
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