Russian Olympic curler denies knowingly doping

MOSCOW: Russian curler Alexander Krushelnitsky, who tested positive for the banned substance meldonium at the Winter Olympics, said Tuesday he had never knowingly doped and welcomed an investigation into the “shock” result.

Krushelnitsky had passed rigorous vetting to attend the Pyeongchang Games, raising questions over the testing programme and the move to let Russians compete despite systemic doping at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

“I more than anyone else am interested in an investigation as soon as possible to find out the reasons for what has happened,” Krushelnitsky said in a statement published on the website of Russia’s curling federation.

“I am ready to confirm that not once in the whole time that I have been in sport have I taken any banned substance or competed dishonestly in any way,” he said. The positive test result was “not just a shock — it was a heavy blow to my reputation and my career,” he added.

Krushelnitsky, 25, won the bronze medal in the mixed doubles curling with his wife Anastasia Bryzgalova.The drug he is said to have taken, meldonium, increases endurance and helps recovery.

But Russia’s sports minister Pavel Kolobkov said it was impossible that 25-year-old Krushelnitsky could have deliberately taken meldonium.“In this case, the athlete could not have used the banned drug intentionally, it would be simply pointless. Curling, as a whole, is not the kind of sport in which dishonest athletes use doping,” Kolobkov said in comments carried by news agencies.

Meanwhile, a curler from Norway who finished fourth behind Krushelnitsky wants the situation resolved before the end of the Games.Norway’s Magnus Nedregotten has called on organisers and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to expedite the process so he and partner Kristin Sasklien can learn if they have been promoted to third.

“Knowing that we may have been robbed and having to wait to see what happens is obviously emotional, and very stressful,” said Nedregotten, whose medal hopes were dashed after an 8-4 defeat by the Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR) pair.

“Firstly, he is not guilty before he is convicted,” he added. “All we know is it appears that he had an illegal substance in his body during competition.“But (if guilty), the preferred option would be to receive the bronze medal at some point during the remainder of the Olympics. Receiving the medals this week would definitely be better than in a year’s time.”