Top anti-doping agency to investigate Russian skater

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) will investigate the entourage of Kamila Valieva, the 15-year-old Russian ice skater who tested positive for a banned drug last week.

The WADA told Reuters in a statement on Sunday that it will be investigating Valieva’s coaches, doctors and any other adults around her.

A hearing to decide whether or not Valieva can continue to compete in the Games began in Beijing on Sunday.

Last week, it was revealed that trace amounts of trimetazidine, a drug used for chest pain that increases blood flow to the heart, had been discovered in a test submitted by Valieva ahead of the Games.

Trimetazidine, which is not approved for use in the U.S., is believed to possibly help athletic performance during endurance sports.

Russian bobsledder Nadezhda Sergeeva was disqualified from the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics after testing positive for the drug.

During the Games, before the test results were revealed, Valieva made history by becoming the first woman to achieve quadruple jumps during an Olympic Game.

As Valieva is under 16, she is a protected person under WADA rules and any punishment that is issued will be lesser than if she was over 16.

A decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which is handling the hearing, will likely come on Monday, one day before the women’s singles event begins on Tuesday.