“This could not have happened without politics and double standards” – Ishmuratova about the different periods of disqualification of Valieva and Shventek for trimetazidine

The fact that the Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva and Polish tennis player Iga Swiętek in the doping samples of which trimetazidine was found, received completely different conditions of disqualification, speaks of double standards, the two-time Olympic biathlon champion told Svetlana Ichmouratova .

On Thursday, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced that world number two Schwiatek had tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine. The result was a finding of no substantial fault or negligence and a one-month suspension. Schwiatek’s temporary suspension from September 12 to October 4 counted toward the ban period, leaving her to serve an 8-day sentence until December 4.

At the end of January, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) suspended Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva for four years for violating anti-doping rules. The suspension period is counted from December 25, 2021, from this date all its results are canceled. Trimetazidine was also found in the athlete’s sample.

– Well, the key words in all these explanations are probably: “the athlete was able to prove that the doping entered his body involuntarily.” » In the case of Kamila Valieva, since the athlete was a minor, the adults who were responsible could not prove it. Of course, this could not have happened without politics and double standards,” Ishmuratova told .

The ITIA admitted that the positive test in Szwiatek’s case was due to contamination of an over-the-counter medication (melatonin) produced and sold in Poland that the 23-year-old tennis player was taking to treat jet lag and sleep problems, and that the violation was therefore not intentional. The batch of medicine is believed to have been contaminated during production.

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