Sotnikova hoists the Russian flag after her victory in 2014. Photo: Issei Kato archives / Reuters

O International Olympic Committee (IOC) will not investigate the comments of the Olympic figure skating champion, Adelina Sotnikova athlete of Russia, who claimed to have had a positive result doping at the Games of Sochi 2014despite calls to do so in the South Korea.

Sotnikova won gold in women’s singles on home soil at the Winter Olympics nine years ago, becoming the first Russian athlete to win the prestigious event. In a YouTube video, the now-retired skater claimed she received a positive doping test in 2014 before being cleared for her B sample.

The Korean Olympic and Sports Committee (KSOC) has asked the IOC to investigate the comments. South Korean Kim Yu-na lost the gold to the Russian, although many observers questioned the judging and claimed she should have won the event. However, an unnamed KSOC official told South Korean news agency Yonhap that the IOC had rejected an investigation.

“The IOC has said that Sotnikova tested negative with her A sample in 2014 and that it did not identify any anti-doping rule violations by Sotnikova during extensive testing of Russian athletes in 2017. Now that the IOC has said that Sotnikova had never tested positive with her A sample, it will be difficult for us to press charges,” the official said.

Sotnikova was cited in the report commissioned by the World Anti-Doping Agency by Canadian lawyer Professor Richard McLaren in December 2016 as an athlete whose evidence of adulteration was found in test tubes in which samples of urine were submitted, however, she was cleared of any impropriety. by the IOC in November 2017.

Former Moscow lab director turned whistleblower Grigory Rodchenkov, the key witness in the McLaren report, claimed Sotnikova was not part of the program. Sotnikova officially retired in March 2020.