Russian Figure Skater Kamila Valieva Listed 2 Legal Oxygen Boosters On Olympic Forms

ZHANGJIAKOU, China (AP) — According to documentation submitted on her behalf, two authorized medications used to promote heart function were included on an anti-doping control form filled out for Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva before her drug issue at the Olympics arose.

The World Anti-Doping Agency filed a brief in the Valieva case, claiming that the mention of L-carnitine and Hypoxen, while both lawful, undermines the idea that a banned chemical, trimetazidine, may have reached the skater’s system by accident.

The US Anti-Doping Agency has attempted but failed, to place Hypoxen, a drug designed to increase oxygen flow to the heart, on the banned list.

Another oxygen-boosting performance enhancer, L-carnitine, is banned if injected above certain thresholds. The supplement was at the center of the doping case involving Alberto Salazar, a track coach.

When those are combined with 2.1 nanograms of the heart medicine trimetazidine, which was found in Valieva’s system after a Dec. 25 test, “an indication that something more serious is going on,” USADA CEO Travis Tygart said.

“You use all of that to increase performance,” he said. “It totally undermines the credibility” of Valieva’s defense.

Two people familiar with the issue told The Associated Press that a brief filed by the World Anti-Doping Agency in a hearing on Valieva’s case, which the AP saw, was genuine. Because the paper was not publicly available, the persons talked on the condition of anonymity. WADA did not respond to an email from the Associated Press seeking comment on the brief.

As per Apnews, Valieva’s mother is quoted in the brief as claiming that the skater’s grandfather used trimetazidine on a regular basis, which would explain how it got into her system. WADA, on the other hand, thought the explanation was insufficient to absolve her of doping charges.

Valieva’s mother testified that her daughter used Hypoxen to address “heart variations,” according to the brief.

Valieva’s positive test was found after she led the Russians to gold in the team skating event the previous week. Her suspension was initially imposed by Russia’s anti-doping authorities, but it was later removed. WADA and the IOC took their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which found Valieva eligible to compete in the women’s event, which began on Tuesday.

She is a “protected person” under anti-doping rules because she is 15, therefore she could avoid major penalties. Her coaches and other members of her entourage are automatically investigated and face harsher punishments.

The larger case concerning the positive test will be decided later, as will the question of whether Russia will receive its gold medal. Meanwhile, the IOC has announced that there will be no medal ceremony for events in which Valieva places first. She’s a favorite for gold and was leading after the short program.

Apnews By EDDIE PELLS contributed to this report