Doping And Tarnishing The Olympic Gold

A promising young skater, in fact, a rising star in the figure skating world, Kamila Valieva, has, unfortunately, become the latest face of the Russian doping scandal.

The fifteen-year-old figure skater landed the first quadruple jumps by a woman at the Olympics, drawing praise and paving the way for her team to the top position on the Olympic podium. But, the celebrations did not last long.

The next day, news broke that Kamila Valieva had tested positive for a banned heart medication, trimetazidine, at the Russian Figure Skating Championships in St. Petersburg, in December. Trimetazidine can improve athletic performance by increasing blood flow efficiency. At the time, she was provisionally suspended by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), but the decision was overturned the next day.