WADA stated that Valieva’s doping concentration was greater than that of the Chinese
World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Chief Legal Officer Ross Wenzel explained the difference in the cases involving Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva and 23 Chinese swimmers. His words are quoted by RIA Novosti.
The functionary said that the concentration of the banned drug trimetazidine in the Russian woman’s body was 2.1 nanograms per milliliter and was much higher than that of the Chinese. “But the main thing is that there was nothing in Valieva’s case that would help exclude the possibility of deliberately taking trimetazidine a few days before the competition. Here there were repeated tests that gave either negative or positive results,” Wenzel noted.
He added that Valieva changed her testimony about the reasons why trimetazidine entered her body. “In the case of the Chinese swimmers, we had no reason to challenge the theory of accidental contamination,” the legal adviser said.
On April 20, it was reported that 23 Chinese swimmers were caught doping and were allowed to compete in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. It was clarified that the Chinese Anti-Doping Agency conducted an investigation during which it was determined that traces of the drug were found in the kitchen of the hotel where the athletes stayed during the competition.
Valieva was disqualified for four years for doping. Traces of trimetazidine were found in the skater’s December 2021 sample.
Source: Lenta
Kingston is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
