Valieva argued positive test was mix-up with grandfather's heart drug: IOC

BEIJING: Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva has argued that her positive drug test was caused by a mix-up with her grandfather's heart medication, an Olympic official said on Tuesday (Feb 15).

The 15-year-old's defence was revealed as Beijing braced for an unprecedented Olympic moment - the world's top figure skaters will compete in the evening's single competition with the likelihood they will not receive medals at the Winter Games.

Denis Oswald, the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) permanent chair of the disciplinary commission, said Valieva claimed there was a mix-up at a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) hearing into whether she should be allowed to continue competing.

"Her argument was this contamination happened with a product her grandfather was taking," Oswald said.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), IOC, Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) and Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) did not immediately respond to Reuters emails after Oswald's comments.

The Russian teenager was cleared by CAS to compete in the women's single event after a panel of three judges agreed with RUSADA's decision to lift a ban on her.

CAS, however, did not address the merits of her drug case, which now awaits a RUSADA hearing that is not expected until well after the Winter Games end.

Valieva was tested at her national championships on Dec 25, but the positive test for the banned angina drug trimetazidine was not revealed until Feb 8, after she had already competed at the Beijing Games in the team event.

WADA has questioned why the Russian anti-doping authority took so long to report the result.

Earlier, Oswald said in a press conference that Valieva's "B" sample had yet to be analysed, despite the initial positive result.

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