Russian star figure skater Kamila Valieva has been temporarily suspended after testing positive for trimetazidine a month before winning the team gold medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
But what kind of drug is trimetazidine? TMZ is a drug used to treat angina and other heart conditions.
On February 8, Valieva was suspended after trimetazidine was found in her system, but the skater appealed that decision the following day.
At the ensuing hearing, Valieva’s lawyer, Anna Kozmenko, claimed the 15-year-old had accidentally taken trimetazidine via a tainted product. Kozmenko maintained that the drug belonged to Valieva’s grandfather, who takes it for heart problems.
“There can be completely different ways to get into (Valieva’s body),” Kozmenko said during the hearing, according to The Dossier Center. “For example, (his) grandfather drank something from a glass, the saliva got in (and) that glass was later used by the athlete.”
Here’s what to know about trimetazidine, also known as TMZ:
Valieva and trimetazidine:Russian Kamila Valieva says her positive drug test was due to her grandfather’s medication
“Destroys the Olympic spirit”:Father of American figure skater Alysa Liu blasts Kamila Valieva’s decision
What is TMZ used for and why is it banned?
Trimetazidine, known as TMZ, is a drug used to treat angina and other heart conditions. It works by increasing blood flow to the heart and limiting rapid fluctuations in blood pressure. The drug is not approved for use in the United States.
Since 2014, it has been on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of prohibited substances and is categorized as “hormonal and metabolic modulator”. It is illegal for athletes to use it both in-competition and out-of-competition because it can increase blood flow efficiency and improve endurance.
TMZ is usually taken once or twice a day and can easily be detected in drug tests. It is not recommended for children 18 or younger.
When and how did Valieva test positive?
On February 8, it was revealed that Valieva had tested positive six weeks earlier for trimetazidine. The news came after the 15-year-old skater became the first woman to land a quadruple jump at the Olympics.
According to the ITA, Valieva’s sample was obtained on December 25 during the Russian National Championships in St. Petersburg. The Swedish laboratory did not release the results until more than six weeks later. He blamed COVID-19 issues for the delay.
After the Court of Arbitration for Sport hearing which lasted approximately 90 minutes, Valieva’s suspension was lifted. Her lawyer argued that Valieva accidentally took TMZ since her grandfather was using it for his heart problems.
Valieva’s team also said that because she was under 16, she was a “protected person” and could be offered waivers or leniency under the World Anti-Doping Code.
WADA rejected the decision, stating that the CAS decision uses an exemption with anti-doping rules that do not exist.
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“Although WADA has not received the reasoned award, it appears that the CAS Panel has decided not to apply the terms of the (WADA’s) Code,” the organization said in a statement.
The decision was criticized by the father of US figure skating Olympian Alysa Liu, who said “she tested positive for a banned drug. What’s not clear about that? She should be outside.”
American track and field star Sha’Carri Richardson, who was unable to compete in the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for marijuana, tweeted the only difference between her case and Valieva’s is that she is “a young black woman”.
Valieva says it was her grandfather’s medicine. Could she have taken it accidentally?
A drug test found 2.1 nanograms per milliliter of TMZ in Valieva’s system, according to The Dossier Center.
“The athlete’s explanation…was that (i) her grandfather regularly used trimetazidine medications and (ii) she must have been inadvertently exposed to this medication prior to doping control,” the author wrote. ‘World Anti-Doping Agency during the hearing. .
Valieva’s attorney argued that she could have ingested TMZ by simply sipping the same glass of water as her grandfather. However, Andrey Zholinsk, director of the Federal Medical and Biological Agency’s Federal Research and Clinic Center for Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, disagrees.
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Zholinsk said the avocado story seems “wild” because TMZ is packaged in a film-coated tablet and wouldn’t smear on a glass cup or bottle.
“The pellicular membrane only dissolves in the intestines. Turns out, excuse me, Grandpa must have burped in a glass, and Valieva must have done something with that glass to get the trimetazidine in her body,” Zholinsk told the Dossier Center.
Has anyone ever been suspended for using TMZ?
The most famous case of trimetazidine in sports doping concerns Chinese swimmer Sun Yang.
The three-time Olympic champion served a three-month ban in 2014 in a decision that was not initially released by China’s anti-doping agency. WADA did not exercise its right to challenge this Chinese judgment by appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
As this was Sun’s first doping offense, he was punished more severely for his second, more publicized offense of refusing to cooperate with a sample collection team at his home in China.
Russian bobsledder Nadezhda Sergeeva tested positive for trimetazidine at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. She was disqualified from the two-man event and served an eight-month ban.
Contributor: Associated Press
Follow Gabriela Miranda on Twitter: @itsgabbymiranda