Krushelnitsky leaves Pyeongchang insisting he did not take meldonium

The situation around Russian curler Alexander Krushelnitsky whose B sample test for meldonium proved to be positive arouses many questions, representatives of the Russian team at the Olympic Games in South Korea say.

Russian sports officials express doubt that an athlete who had been “clean” before (all his samples before January 22 tested negative for meldonium) suddenly before the games started taking a banned substance knowing in advance the doping control would be very tough. Besides, they say that in curling where athletes do not need doping, there had been no such incidents before.

The officials stress that a minimal concentration of meldonium was found in Krushelnitsky’s samples, which means it was taken only once. It shows, they note, that the substance could have been secretly added to his food or water he was drinking.

The curler insists he did not take any banned substance. He has already left the Olympic village.

Earlier, the Russian Curling Federation applied to the International Olympic Committee and the Russian Investigation Committee asking to assist in investigating the case.