Four-time biathlon Olympic champion Alexander Tikhonov said that the athlete and her entourage were responsible for the four-year disqualification of figure skater Kamila Valieva. He shared his opinion with him RIA News.
“Of course, this is a biased attitude towards us, given the political situation towards Russia. But explain to me how this drug got into Valieva’s body? There have been more than 30 similar cases in biathlon. Who is to blame and has anyone been punished for this? No, only athletes were injured. In the Valieva incident, both the athlete herself and her surroundings are guilty,” said Tikhonov.
On January 29, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) suspended Valieva for four years and annulled the tournament results from December 25, 2021. For example, it became clear that it tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine after Russia’s victory in the team tournament at the 2022 Games.
On January 30, the International Skating Union (ISU) approved the new top three medalists in the team tournament at the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing. After Valieva’s results were cancelled, Russia fell from first place to third place, while gold went to the USA and silver went to Japan.
Previously in the USA in the name Russia’s bronze medals at the 2022 Olympics are ridiculous.