Spanish figure skater Laura Barquero caught in doping scandal

Spain’s first ever figure skating pair to compete at the Winter Olympics have received horror news after their Beijing Games campaign.

The International Testing Agency has announced that Spanish figure skater Laura Barquero failed a doping test at the Beijing Winter Olympics last week.

The 20-year-old returned an adverse analytical finding for a metabolite of clostebol, which is on the prohibited list of the World Anti-Doping Agency, in a sample that was taken after Friday’s short program event.

“The athlete has been informed of the case. She has the right to request the analysis of the B-sample,” the ITA said in a statement.

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The matter has been referred to the court of arbitration for sport.

“We are waiting for the result of the counter-test, a result that every athlete has the right to request,” the Spanish Olympic Committee said in a statement.

Barquero competed in the pairs competition at the Beijing Games earlier this month, finishing 11th alongside long-term partner Marco Zandron. They were Spain’s first ever figure skating pair to compete at the Winter Olympics.

Laura Barquero and Marco Zandron from Spain. Photo by Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Zandron posted to Instagram after the Beijing Games: “I have tried to describe the feelings and emotions I experienced during these seven days of pure euphoria, but not once have I actually managed to express what I feel.

“I will limit myself to hoping that I have inspired and intrigued the younger generations.

“In fact, I believe that I do not know or that there are no adequate words to describe what you feel.

“Looking back at August 2020, when I was starting my partnership with Laura Barquero, I could never believe that with one and a half year’s work we could have made it this high.

“I want to take this 11th place in our Olympic debut as a prize that shows hard work pays off.”

Iranian alpine skier Hossein Saveh Shemshaki, Ukrainian cross-country skier Valentyna Kaminska and Ukrainian bobsledder Lidiia Hunko also tested positive to banned substances in Beijing.

Meanwhile, Russian teenager Kamila Valieva dominated headlines throughout the Winter Olympics after she tested positive for trimetazidine before the Beijing Games.