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A Russian bobsledder who tested positive for a banned substance at the Pyeongchang Olympics has admitted to doping and has been disqualified from the Games.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport on Saturday said Nadezhda Sergeeva has accepted a provisional suspension but reserved her right "to seek the elimination or reduction" of her expected ban from competition.
Sergeeva was the second Russian to test positive at the Olympics — curler Alexander Krushelnitsky also tested positive and returned his bronze medal from the mixed doubles competition.
Bobsledder Nadezhda Sergeeva tested positive for a heart drug on February 18, five days after a previous doping test returned a negative result for her, the Bobsleigh Federation of Russia said in a statement on Friday.
"On February 13, her sample was clean. The team's medical staff did not prescribe the drug to the athlete," the federation said in a post on its official Facebook page.
"The Bobsleigh Federation of Russia and the athlete herself understand the extent of their responsibility and understand how what has happened can have an impact on the fate of the whole team."
Sergeeva appeared in a YouTube video posted by Russian company Zasport before the 2018 Winter Olympics wearing an 'I DON'T DO DOPING' shirt. The video has now been taken down.
Earlier this week, Russian curling medallist Alexander Krushelnitsky agreed to hand back his mixed-team bronze medal after testing positive for meldonium, which can improve endurance.
Krushelnitsky's case shocked the Russian athletes, who are competing at the Games as neutral athletes as punishment over allegations that the sporting powerhouse ran a systematic, state-backed doping program.
Moscow denies there is such a program.
But his case also raised doubts about whether the violation was intentional because meldonium would offer few benefits in curling, which does not involve intense physical exertion.
At that point, there were still Russian hopes that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) would go ahead and lift its suspension of Russia's Olympic committee and allow them to march with the Russian flag at Sunday's closing ceremony.
That prospect is now severely complicated by the second positive test of a Russian athlete. Russia now accounts for two out of four positive tests during the Games.
The IOC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The news came a few hours after hundreds of Russian fans roared in celebration when teenage figure skater Alina Zagitova delivered their team's first gold medal.
Reuters
Topics: winter-olympics, sport, bobsleigh, doping-in-sports, korea-republic-of, russian-federation
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