A back-of-the-pack women’s skier competing for Ukraine at the Beijing Olympics has tested positive for banned drugs, according to the agency that’s overseeing testing at the Games.
Valentyna Kaminska tested positive for a banned steroid and stimulants on the day she finished 79th in the 10-kilometer classic event, the International Testing Agency said in a statement Wednesday.
Kaminska has been provisionally suspended until the case is resolved and is banned from participating in further Olympic events, the ITA said. She can challenge the suspension at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and she can also ask authorities to analyze her B-sample.
Kaminska competed at the 2018 and 2014 Olympics for Belarus, where she was born, before moving to the Ukrainian team. She’s never cracked the top 30 in an individual World Cup event, or at the Olympics or World Championships.
She has not responded to a request for comment sent Thursday through her Instagram account.
Nathaniel Herz
Nat Herz is an Alaska-based journalist who moonlights for FasterSkier as an occasional reporter and podcast host. He was FasterSkier's full-time reporter in 2010 and 2011.
