Russian curler formally charged with doping after testing positive for meldonium

Russian curler Alexander Krushelnitckii has been formally charged with doping after testing positive for meldonium. His first sample had tested positive for the substance, which was banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency in 2016. His B-sample, which is used to confirm positive tests, was tested on Monday in Korea.

Krushelnitckii won bronze in the mixed doubles curling event with his wife Anastasia Bryzgalova earlier in the Games. He has already left PyeongChang under suspicions of testing positive.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport released a statement announcing the charges.

Krushelnitckii was one of 168 Olympic Athletes of Russia allowed to participate in PyeongChang despite the International Olympic Committee’s banning of Russia for a state-sponsored doping program at the Sochi Games in 2014. All athletes were cleared by the IOC and were supposedly clean.

This isn’t the first time Russians have run into meldonium. It was the substance that got Maria Sharapova banned from tennis for 15 months and also the substance that speed skater Semen Elistratov tested positive for 2016. Elistratov won a bronze medal in the 1,500m event at PyeongChang and is being investigated by the IOC for his comments critizing the Russia ban.

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