In the storm, Kamila Valieva bends, but does not break: authorized to compete at the last moment after a positive test for a banned substance known in the middle of the Olympics, the young Russian skater finished at the top of the short program, despite a shaky performance on Tuesday evening . The last musical notes of her program barely flown, she could not hold back a few sobs. Like when she joined her coach, the stern and inscrutable Eteri Tutberidze, at the edge of the track to find out her score. Like, too, when she crossed the press area without stopping, a few moments later. She then did not appear at a press conference.
“These days were very difficult for me. (…) I am happy, but at the same time I am already emotionally tired, ”she confided the day before the short program to a Russian television channel. The Valieva case experienced a new development with the revelations of the New York Times, who had access to the documents presented to the CAS during the hearing at the end of which the arbitration body authorized the skater to continue her Games.
Contaminated by drinking from the same glass as her grandfather?
In the sample taken on December 25 during the Russian championships, in addition to trimetazidine, a substance used to treat angina pectoris and banned by WADA since 2014 because it promotes blood circulation, two other substances were identified, hypoxene and L-Carnitine, which are not prohibited and which are found in particular in food supplements.
On Tuesday, Denis Oswald, member of the IOC’s executive committee, explained that “the argument [de sa défense] advanced the contamination with a product that his grandfather took ”. Russian media have since reported that Valieva drank from the same glass as her grandfather, who takes trimetazidine for a heart condition. According to the NYT, the latter, in a pre-recorded video message, claimed during the CAS hearing to take trimetazidine to treat “attacks”. Valieva’s mother clarified on this occasion that Valieva’s grandfather accompanied her daily to training and that her daughter was taking hypoxene due to “cardiac arrhythmias”.