From Russia With Love [#40]: Summer 2021 & into the Olympic season

[Karen-W]

Let’s get serious here. Would the disqualified skater(s) have to return the panda toys awarded in the initial ceremony?

I wondered about that too!!!! Or do they make the entire team return the panda toys? Do they have enough to give an upgraded team panda toys also?

 

[Frau Muller]

Oh oh…Christine Brennan’s Twitter mentions possible Russia involvement:

https://twitter.com/cbrennansports/status/1491289743522336769

Ok - where’s Dave Lease “Spletnikov” when we need him most???

 

[mjb52]

That's from four hours ago. Everyone is just quoting everyone else quoting that one article for the most part.

 

[Frau Muller]

I wonder who might be the drug-taking athlete on Team Russia?

2022 Olympics: Russian figure skater reportedly tests positive for drugs, delaying medal ceremony

2022 Olympics: Russian figure skater reportedly tests positive for drugs, delaying medal ceremony

www.yahoo.com

 

[Frau Muller]

https://twitter.com/usatodaysports/status/1491401509942304776

Brennan’s latest, filmed from her hotel bedroom.

 

[Bigbird]

https://twitter.com/usatodaysports/status/1491401509942304776

Brennan’s latest, filmed from her hotel bedroom.

Are we sure it has anything to do with a positive test? Think it's best to wait on the official information. We may be way off track including these overly zealous reporters.

 

[hanca]

Karen Chen and Alexa Knierim would be Olympic GOLD medalists .

WTF is going on, and why wasn't this legal issue determined before the ROC was allowed to compete? It will be incredibly unfair if the team loses their gold medal over one athlete mistakenly being allowed to compete, if that athlete could have been substituted for someone with proper clearance to compete.

Maybe that was the plan from the beginning? Knowing that other countries have no chance to beat Russia, if they raised any problem with drug test before the team event, Russia would use a different skater(s) and win anyway. So the easiest plan how to prevent Russia from getting the gold is to let the skater compete, then disqualify the whole team (or at least disqualify that particular skater) and problem solved! Goodby gold medal! I find all this quite disgusting!

 

[screech]

I wonder who might be the drug-taking athlete on Team Russia?

2022 Olympics: Russian figure skater reportedly tests positive for drugs, delaying medal ceremony

2022 Olympics: Russian figure skater reportedly tests positive for drugs, delaying medal ceremony

www.yahoo.com

My first thought was Nikita taking prescribed pain medication for his back that unfortunately turned out to have a controlled substance in it. This is just my own speculation. But in any case, with the scrutiny around Russian athletes, I doubt anyone took anything purposefully.

There's also speculation I'm reading that if it's one skater/team, that their points can be dropped from the total, like a WD for that segment. In that case ROC would likely still get the bronze. That's probably the legal part - can the rest of the team's points still count, or would the entire team be DQ since the positive-tested athlete(s) actually competed.

 

[skatingguy]

Maybe that was the plan from the beginning? Knowing that other countries have no chance to beat Russia, if they raised any problem with drug test before the team event, Russia would use a different skater(s) and win anyway. So the easiest plan how to prevent Russia from getting the gold is to let the skater compete, then disqualify the whole team (or at least disqualify that particular skater) and problem solved! Goodby gold medal! I find all this quite disgusting!

So you're disgusted by the outcome of a conspiracy theory that you've just invented out of thin air.

 

[hanca]

So you're disgusted by the outcome of a conspiracy theory that you've just invented out of thin air.

I don’t believe that any Russian skater was using drugs, especially while they know they are watched under microscope. I find it very convenient that the drug issue was again found. I am disgusted how some countries go fully out of their way to ensure that they get the medal they want. I don’t particularly love Russians, not after they occupied my country for so many years, but what is going on, the politics behind all this, it is disgusting.

 

[skatingguy]

I don’t believe that any Russian skater was using drugs, especially while they know they are watched under microscope. I find it very convenient that the drug issue was again found. I am disgusted how some countries go fully out of their way to ensure that they get the medal they want. I don’t particularly love Russians, not after they occupied my country for so many years, but what is going on, the politics behind all this, it is disgusting.

You don't know any of that. Not only have you invented a positive drug test for a Russian athlete that is not yet confirmed, but that the positive test was as a result of the actions of another country to prevent the Russian from medaling. Stop.

 

[DreamSkates]

It's being discussed in the OWG subforum in KnC, but here's an article from InsideTheGames

Russia at centre of doping mystery as figure skating ceremony delayed

An emerging legal issue has delayed the medal ceremony for the team figure skating competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics here, the International Oly...

www.insidethegames.biz

All I gotta say is "ruh-roh" for the ROC and its future within the Olympic movement if this pans out...

I posted this in The Great Skate Debate, but here is a link from USA Today/Apple News https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...-medals-delayed-russian-drug-test/6717526001/

 

[hanca]

You don't know any of that. Not only have you invented a positive drug test for a Russian athlete that is not yet confirmed, but that the positive test was as a result of the actions of another country to prevent the Russian from medaling. Stop.

I did not invent anything. According to this article, one of the six Russian skaters failed drug test. How convenient is that?

2022 Olympics: Russian figure skater reportedly tests positive for drugs, delaying medal ceremony

2022 Olympics: Russian figure skater reportedly tests positive for drugs, delaying medal ceremony

www.yahoo.com

 

[skatingguy]

I did not invent anything. According to this article, one of the six Russian skaters failed drug test. How convenient is that?

2022 Olympics: Russian figure skater reportedly tests positive for drugs, delaying medal ceremony

2022 Olympics: Russian figure skater reportedly tests positive for drugs, delaying medal ceremony

www.yahoo.com

But we don't know what kind of drug test, or any of the circumstances, and it's clearly not convenient for anyone. Just STOP.

 

[taz'smum]

I did not invent anything. According to this article, one of the six Russian skaters failed drug test. How convenient is that?

2022 Olympics: Russian figure skater reportedly tests positive for drugs, delaying medal ceremony

2022 Olympics: Russian figure skater reportedly tests positive for drugs, delaying medal ceremony

www.yahoo.com

If you read carefully, it says 'reportedly' failed a drugs test.

So this is not a fact!

 

[Perky Shae Lynn]

I can't imagine anyone is stupid enough to have traces of weed in their system?

 

[skatingguy]

I can't imagine anyone is stupid enough to have traces of weed in their system?

Let me introduce you to Ross Rebagliati - Olympic Gold medalist in Snowboard from 1998 - who tested positive for marijuana.

 

[skategal]

Let me introduce you to Ross Rebagliati - Olympic Gold medalist in Snowboard from 1998 - who tested positive for marijuana.

But somehow was able to keep the medal.

 

[skatingguy]

But somehow was able to keep the medal.

Marijuana wasn't a banned substance at the time, but the IOC tried to strip the medal anyway.

 

[morqet]

I can't imagine anyone is stupid enough to have traces of weed in their system?

You would think, and yet...

What happened to Sha'Carri Richardson? Explaining the runner's Olympic weed ban controversy | Sporting News

Explaining Sha'Carri Richardson's ban from Tokyo Olympics

www.sportingnews.com

 

[xxibjt]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1491425423808421892

omg.

 

[Sylvia]

Valieva is at centre of legal problem causing medal delay at Beijing 2022

A legal issue involving an anti-doping test taken by Russia’s 15-year-old sensation Kamila Valieva is the reason the medal ceremony for the team figur...

www.insidethegames.biz

The exact nature of Valieva’s problem is unclear but the situation is complicated because, under the rules of the World Anti-Doping Code, she is a "Protected Person".
That means as "an athlete who at the time of the anti-doping rule violation: has not reached the age of sixteen" Valieva cannot officially be identified if she is guilty of an anti-doping violation.
insidethegames understands that several legal teams are currently involved working on the complex case which is expected to stretch into tomorrow before a conclusion is reached.

 

[BlueRidge]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1491425423808421892

omg.

Maybe since this is a "legal" dispute it can all be worked out and everything be okay.

I'm going with that.

 

[Perky Shae Lynn]

Lord all mighty. Did she take pseudoephedrine for a stuffy nose or something? Even if she is allowed to continue, the stress is going to be immense. The Russians never fail to do something stupid.

 

[Frau Muller]

Thank goodness that Mother Russia still has the Rocket in reserve!

If Kamila disqualified for the rest of Games…a call to Empress Liza?

 

[Judy]

Let me introduce you to Ross Rebagliati - Olympic Gold medalist in Snowboard from 1998 - who tested positive for marijuana.

I remember that lol. He inhaled it at a party .

 

[Frau Muller]

Our favorite team doctor in the spotlight…
Dr. Fillip Schvetsky

В Финляндии Валиеву сопровождал некий мужчина. Это врач, замешанный в допинговом скандале

В «Хрустальном» высоко ценят Филиппа Шветского, но в его биографии была тёмная и неприятная история.

www.championat.com

 

[MarieM]

Dave Lease is implying it's meldonium.

 

[irenemulindwairen]

Dave Lease is implying it's meldonium.

Not surprised. When will these people ever learn? Why rob an athlete of a career of a sport he/she has dedicated themselves to?

 

[Sasha'sSpins]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1491425423808421892

omg.

Oh no! I think I'm going to be sick! And if Kamila is supposed to be 'protected', how is her identity known?? This would put a HUGE asterisk on the women's results, if she's not allowed to compete! Poor kid, she's just a little girl! I hope against hope that this turns out well after all!