- An ex-US Olympic figure skater questioned if other Russian skaters used "legal" drugs to boost endurance.
- Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva tested positive for a banned drug prior to the Olympics.
- "It's devastating that she was put in this situation," Polina Edmunds wrote on Twitter.
Retired US Olympic figure skater Polina Edmunds questioned whether other Russian figure skaters are using "legal" drugs or supplements to help boost their performances amid a doping scandal that has taken center stage at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Kamila Valieva, the 15-year-old Russian figure skater who tested positive for a banned substance, fell twice during her free skate program Thursday, knocking her out of medal contention. The embattled figure skating star — competing on behalf of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) — was last to perform in the second half of the women's free skate event.
Despite coming into Thursday's program with a strong lead, Valieva finished the event in fourth place.
"I will say Kamila's skate today is the skate I would expect to see more often from women doing technical content like that," Edmunds tweeted following the women's free skate Thursday.
"It's extremely difficult," Edmunds continued. "Makes me wonder what 'legal' oxygen boosters the other 2 Russian girls are on since they are from the same coaching team."
—Polina Edmunds (@PolinaEdmunds) February 17, 2022
None of the other Russian Olympic competitors — including free skate gold and silver medalists Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova — have failed drug tests.
Valieva's eligibility to compete came under question last week after news emerged that she'd failed a drug test in December. She tested positive for trimetazidine, a drug the World Anti-Doping Agency categorizes as a "hormone and metabolic modulator," according to The Associated Press.
When taken without proper cause, the drug can bolster endurance and improve circulation. Both effects could give a high-level figure skater a competitive advantage.
Valieva was initially slapped with a provisional suspension from the Russian Anti-Doping Agency after the positive test surfaced. But following a swift appeal, the ban was overturned on February 9.
The International Olympic Committee then challenged that decision in the Court of Arbitration for Sport. On Monday, the court issued a ruling that lifted Valieva's provisional suspension and paved the way for the teen to compete in Tuesday's women's singles short program.
Many close to the sport slammed the decision to keep Valieva in the field, especially after multiple outlets reported on Tuesday that Valieva had tested positive for two additional heart drugs in the December 25 sample she provided. Only trimetazidine has been banned from the Olympics, but the other two — hypoxen and L-Carnatine — have raised concerns from anti-doping officials and called into question Valieva's excuse that she'd mixed up her medications.
Valieva's mother and coach insisted she was taking the drugs for "heart variations, but anti-doping officials have said that it is highly unlikely such a young, elite athlete would be taking this combination of drugs. The pair of "legal" medicaations found in Valieva's system could also be used to boost endurance.
"It raises a whole host of questions that have yet to be determined and what appears to be the case of a pretty deliberate attempt to use substances in order to enhance performance," USADA CEO Travis Tygart told CNN.
Edmunds doesn't appear to blame Valieva directly for the scandal. She wrote that these games must have been "very traumatizing" for the 15-year-old prodigy.
"She should not have been allowed to compete," Edmunds wrote. "It's devastating that she was put in this situation, on all levels."
—Polina Edmunds (@PolinaEdmunds) February 17, 2022