Kim, gold medal stolen…Sotnikova’s “doping positive” comment sparks outrage→Video deleted, suspicions mount
Former figure skater Adelina Sotnikova (27, Russia), who won gold at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics by beating Kim Yeon-ah, caused a stir when she revealed that she had tested positive for doping during the Games. As the controversy grew, the channel apparently took down the video.
Russian media outlet SportRBC tweeted on June 6 (KST), “Sotnikova’s controversial interview in which she revealed she tested positive for doping has been removed. (When you go to the video, it says, ‘The user who posted the video has removed it,'” the outlet reported.
Earlier, Sotnikova had appeared on Russian influencer Lilia Abramova’s YouTube channel to talk about doping while discussing Russian figure skater Kamila Valyeva, who was caught in a doping scandal during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. She was asked about the pressure she faces at the Olympics for being Russian.
“I tested positive for doping at the 2014 Olympics,” Sotnikova said. I had to take a second test, and fortunately, they didn’t find anything in the second sample, so I wasn’t disciplined.”
Sotnikova’s statement made waves. Despite the fact that the second sample was not found, a positive doping test is enough to raise suspicions of drug use. In addition, there are cases where an athlete is stripped of a medal for a positive test that was negative at the time of the test, but was later found to be positive due to advances in science and technology 토토사이트추천.
Notably, Sotnikova was the subject of doping allegations in 2016, when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) investigated Russia’s systematic drug use. Sotnikova sparked controversy in December 2016 when her urine sample was removed from the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) list of doping samples.
The Russian figure world was quick to draw a line under Sotnikova’s comments. In Russia, speedskating and figure skating are governed by different federations. Russian Figure Skating Federation general secretary Alexander Kogan told Russian outlet Sportru that Sotnikova’s comments were “unheard of. It’s not true.”
Despite the clarification from the Russian figure world, the controversy over Sotnikova’s comments hasn’t died down. In fact, the channel took down the video within a day, raising even more suspicions.
Meanwhile, Sotnikova won the gold medal in the women’s singles figure skating event at the Sochi Winter Olympics, beating Kim Yeon-ah, who was trying to win her second straight Olympic gold medal. However, she was criticized for landing one of her jumps incorrectly, giving the host nation an advantage.
In fact, Sotnikova withdrew from the World Championships immediately following the Olympics, disappearing from the international scene and retiring from competition years later.