Kamila Valieva’s Beijing Olympics doping controversy took a new twist Wednesday after media reported that the Russian skater had three substances used to treat heart conditions in the sample which triggered the scandal.
The 15-year-old figure skater topped the short programme on Tuesday to put herself in prime position to win the women’s singles competition when it concludes on Thursday, bursting into tears afterwards and refusing to talk to journalists.
Valieva's case has overshadowed the Olympics after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that she should not be suspended despite failing a drugs test in December, although she has not been cleared of doping and still faces further investigation.
Games testing authorities said last week that the teenager tested positive for trimetazidine, a drug used to treat angina but which is banned for athletes by the World Anti-Doping Agency because it can boost endurance.
The New York Times reported that her sample also contained the substances Hypoxen and L-carnitine. They are not on Wada’s prohibited list.
The report said the disclosures concerning the different substances were contained in a document submitted at the CAS hearing that ended with the controversial decision to allow Valieva to continue competing in Beijing.
Senior IOC member Denis Oswald said Tuesday that Valieva informed the CAS panel that she tested positive because of “contamination" from her grandfather’s medicine.
The New York Times report said the grandfather provided a pre-recorded video message to a hearing with Russian anti-doping officials on February 9 in which he said he used trimetazidine.
Valieva’s mother told the same hearing her daughter took Hypoxen for heart “variations”, the Times said.
‘Not fair’
Valieva has already won one gold in Beijing, playing a starring role to lead Russia to the team title last week, before the doping controversy erupted.
The medals ceremony for that will not take place in Beijing because of the saga. Likewise, if Valieva finishes in the top three of the singles competition there will also be no ceremony – unprecedented in Olympic history.
It puts the spotlight once more on doping by Russian athletes, who are not allowed to take part at these Games under their flag because of a state-sponsored doping programme that reached its peak at its home 2014 Sochi Olympics.
Some of Valieva’s fellow skaters made plain their unhappiness that they had to compete against her.
“I don’t know every detail of the case, but from the big picture obviously a doping athlete competing against clean athletes is not fair," the 16-year-old American skater Alysa Liu said.
International Olympic Committee spokesman Mark Adams expressed sympathy for Valieva.
“She is at the centre of a lot of speculation and it must be very tough for her,” he said.
Gold for France
Clement Noel claimed France's first alpine skiing gold medal of these Games when he won the men’s slalom on Wednesday.
Noel was sixth fastest after the first run but his lightning-quick second run gave him a combined total of 1min 44.09sec to hold off Johannes Strolz, the Austrian former traffic policeman who had already won a gold in the alpine combined event.
“That was one of the most important races in my career. It’s not often that you are able to win a medal in the Olympic Games,” said 24-year-old Noel.
“It's one shot - one minute and 40 seconds every four years.”
In the men's ice hockey, Slovakia knocked out a weakened USA squad in a shootout at the quarter-final stage.
The pandemic-driven decision by the National Hockey League, the world’s top pro league, to refuse to release its superstars for the Games has deprived the Olympics of a best-on-best competition and left the USA with the youngest squad in Beijing.
Slovakia scored 44sec from time to force overtime and their captain Marek Hrivik got the only goal of the final penalty shootout.
Alexander Hall of the United States won the men’s freeski slopestyle gold, taking the title ahead of countryman Nick Goepper.
Other golds up for grabs on Wednesday were in women’s biathlon relay, another in freestyle skiing and two each in cross-country and short track speed skating.
After Wednesday’s early action, Norway top the medals table with 12 golds, ahead of Germany on nine and the US on eight.
The Games end on Sunday.
Honeymoonish
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The Lowdown
Us
Director: Jordan Peele
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseqph, Evan Alex and Elisabeth Moss
Rating: 4/5
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
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THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
Expert input
If you had all the money in the world, what’s the one sneaker you would buy or create?
“There are a few shoes that have ‘grail’ status for me. But the one I have always wanted is the Nike x Patta x Parra Air Max 1 - Cherrywood. To get a pair in my size brand new is would cost me between Dh8,000 and Dh 10,000.” Jack Brett
“If I had all the money, I would approach Nike and ask them to do my own Air Force 1, that’s one of my dreams.” Yaseen Benchouche
“There’s nothing out there yet that I’d pay an insane amount for, but I’d love to create my own shoe with Tinker Hatfield and Jordan.” Joshua Cox
“I think I’d buy a defunct footwear brand; I’d like the challenge of reinterpreting a brand’s history and changing options.” Kris Balerite
“I’d stir up a creative collaboration with designers Martin Margiela of the mixed patchwork sneakers, and Yohji Yamamoto.” Hussain Moloobhoy
“If I had all the money in the world, I’d live somewhere where I’d never have to wear shoes again.” Raj Malhotra
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The major Hashd factions linked to Iran:
Badr Organisation: Seen as the most militarily capable faction in the Hashd. Iraqi Shiite exiles opposed to Saddam Hussein set up the group in Tehran in the early 1980s as the Badr Corps under the supervision of the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The militia exalts Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei but intermittently cooperated with the US military.
Saraya Al Salam (Peace Brigade): Comprised of former members of the officially defunct Mahdi Army, a militia that was commanded by Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al Sadr and fought US and Iraqi government and other forces between 2004 and 2008. As part of a political overhaul aimed as casting Mr Al Sadr as a more nationalist and less sectarian figure, the cleric formed Saraya Al Salam in 2014. The group’s relations with Iran has been volatile.
Kataeb Hezbollah: The group, which is fighting on behalf of the Bashar Al Assad government in Syria, traces its origins to attacks on US forces in Iraq in 2004 and adopts a tough stance against Washington, calling the United States “the enemy of humanity”.
Asaeb Ahl Al Haq: An offshoot of the Mahdi Army active in Syria. Asaeb Ahl Al Haq’s leader Qais al Khazali was a student of Mr Al Moqtada’s late father Mohammed Sadeq Al Sadr, a prominent Shiite cleric who was killed during Saddam Hussein’s rule.
Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba: Formed in 2013 to fight alongside Mr Al Assad’s loyalists in Syria before joining the Hashd. The group is seen as among the most ideological and sectarian-driven Hashd militias in Syria and is the major recruiter of foreign fighters to Syria.
Saraya Al Khorasani: The ICRG formed Saraya Al Khorasani in the mid-1990s and the group is seen as the most ideologically attached to Iran among Tehran’s satellites in Iraq.
(Source: The Wilson Centre, the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation)
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
