Russian Olympic curler denies taking meldonium

Russians may be stripped of the right to walk behind their flag at the Olympic closing ceremony.

Russian curler Alexander Krushelnitsky at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

Russian athletes may be stripped of the right to walk behind the Russian flag at the PyeongChang Winter Olympic closing ceremony after one of their medal-winning teammates failed a drug test.

In an embarrassing chapter in the ongoing Russian doping scandal, curler Alexander Krushelnitsky, one of the 169 Russian athletes cleared to compete in PyeongChang as a neutral athlete after satisfying an International Olympic Committee that he was clean, tested positive for meldonium.

The 25-year-old, along with his wife Anastasia Bryzgalovoy, won the bronze medal in mixed doubles curling but the pair is likely to be stripped of the medal after the B sample is confirmed.

Krushelnitsky has claimed sabotage, blaming a rival for spiking his drink with the adrenaline-racing heart drug, made famous by tennis player Maria Sharapova who served a 15-month drug ban for taking the same substance. The amount discovered by testers is reportedly substantial. Meldonium increases blood flow and improves exercise capacity

The curling competitor told Russian officials that someone may have introduced the drug while at a pre-Games training camp in Japan.

Russian women’s curling coach Sergei Belanov dismissed the idea that a “young, clever man” would use drugs in a sport where they would produce “no benefits”.

“It’s stupid but Alexander is not stupid so I don’t believe it,” Belanov said.

The IOC has announced that Russia must not only observe the rules set by the IOC when they allowed the neutral athletes to take part in the Games in a decision in Lausanne on December 5, but that they must also follow the “spirit’’ of the ruling.

The same implementation committee that oversaw the eligibility of the neutral athletes from Russia, will now determine if Russian athletes, officials and fans have been respectful of the neutral participation of the country at these Games.

Russia was allowed to take part because the IOC did not want to penalise “clean’’ athletes for the systemised doping regime at the Sochi Winter Olympics four years ago that saw scores of Russian drugs samples swapped for clean ones to pass doping controls.

However, there are instances of athletes who participated in Sochi competing here in PyeongChang, with the IOC not having sufficient evidence to sideline them from competition.

When the IOC decided to invite certain Russians, IOC president Thomas Bach said he wanted to draw a line in the sand under the Russian scandal by allowing the Russians to walk behind their flag at the closing ceremony.

That conciliatory position has now been put in doubt.

IOC spokesman Mark Adams said “the implementation group has been looking throughout the whole games at the actions of the team and officials among many other things if they are complying with the letter and the spirit of the December 5 decision.

“Should this case come to fruition, that will be part of the consideration. The allowance to march in the closing ceremony under the flag, that further issue of the flag and so on will be discussed by the IOC executive board on the 24th of February.’’

The meldonium positive has rocked the Russians, who up until now had been confident the IOC would reinstate the Russian Olympic Committee at the closing ceremony and allow the Russians to represent their nation rather than compete as neutral athletes.