Ukraine’s Valentyna Kaminska competes in the women’s sprint free qualification event during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the Zhangjiakou National Cross-Country Skiing Centre, February 8, 2022. — AFP pic
BEIJING, Feb 16 — Ukrainian cross-country skier Valentyna Kaminska has failed a doping test at the Beijing Winter Olympics, the Games’ testing authority said today.
Kaminska, 34, tested positive for an anabolic steroid and two other banned substances, the International Testing Agency (ITA) said in a statement.
She has taken part in three events at the Olympics, finishing 79th in the women’s 10-kilometre classic event, 70th in the women’s sprint free qualifications and as part of the Ukrainian team came 18th in the 4×5-kilometre relay.
Kaminska has been provisionally suspended while the case is investigated, the ITA said.
The Olympics have been rocked by the doping case involving 15-year-old Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva, who has been allowed to continue competing at the Games despite testing positive for a banned substance.
A sample Valieva gave in December contained trimetazidine, a drug used to treat angina but which is banned for athletes by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) because it can boost endurance.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport has allowed her to skate in the Olympic women’s singles competition that concludes tomorrow but has not cleared the teenager of doping and she could face punishment at a later date.
Valieva is in pole position to win the event having top-scored in the short programme but Olympic organisers say no medals will awarded if she finishes in the top three, until the doping case has been resolved. — AFP