Russian curling bronze medallist suspected of failed drugs test at Winter Olympics

A Russian athlete is suspected of failing a drugs test here at the Winter Games, as the International Olympic Committee’s controversial decision to allow 169 of the country’s competitors to take part as neutrals threatened to backfire.

Alexander Krushelnytsky, a member of the mixed doubles curling team who won a bronze medal, tested positive for meldonium, the heart drug that infamously caused tennis star Maria Sharapova to receive a 15-month ban. Konstantin Vybornov, a spokesman for the Olympic Athletes of Russia, confirmed that they had been notified of the test result, which has yet to be officially verified.

It has the potential to be a major embarrassment for the IOC, who had planned to give Russian athletes the chance to march under their own flag at the closing ceremony next Sunday. Their supposed neutrality in Pyeongchang is designed as a punishment for the country’s “systemic manipulation” of the anti-doping system when hosting the last Winter Olympics in Sochi, but the IOC have shown a willingness to let them back into the fold.

If the news is confirmed, Krushelnytsky and his wife, Anastasia Bryzgalovov, stand to be stripped of the bronze they secured by beating Norway 8-4 in a playoff match. There were suggestions that told that he had told team officials he believed his drink had been spiked at a training camp in Japan, before he travelled to South Korea.

A B-sample of his urine is due to be analysed on Monday for meldonium, a drug that led to dozens of failed tests among Russian and Eastern European athletes when it was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned list two years ago.

There were better tidings, at least, from the ski resort of Yongpyong, as Austria’s Marcel Hirscher made Olympic history as the first man to win the giant slalom and the alpine combined event at the same Games. Widely regarded as the finest skier of his generation, Hirscher recorded two near-flawless runs to finish 1.27 seconds ahead of Norwegian Henrik Kristofferson, the largest margin of victory since 1968.

The praise from his peers was fulsome. Kjetil Jansrud, with five Olympic medals to his own name, said: “You always want to beat him, but you also have to be a little thankful that you’re skiing in the same era as the biggest of them all.”

France’s Alexis Pinturault, who like Kristofferson gathered at the base of the hill to watch the master at work, said: “It is always so special to race against Marcel. He is the greatest alpine skier.”

The past nine days have done much to cement the legacy of Hirscher, who had won 55 World Cup titles but never, until reaching Pyeongchang, an Olympic gold. In Thursday’s slalom, he has the opportunity to become only the fourth skier to win three of them at the same Games. “Never expect anything in professional sport,” Hirscher said, grinning. “It’s not always easy being the absolute favourite. By my confidence and my speed are high.”