Slovenian athlete joins Russian curler on doping list

Slovenian hockey player Ziga Jeglic is the latest in a handful of athletes to test positive for doping at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Slovenia lost its hockey game against Norway on Tuesday after Jeglic was scratched from the team. Meanwhile, Russian curling officials stand by their claim that bronze medalist Alexander Krushelnitsky’s positive drug test resulted from some sort of foul play. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) banned Russia from the Pyeongchang Games because of an elaborate doping scheme at the last Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. About 170 athletes not caught doping were allowed to compete as “Olympic Athletes from Russia” and were subject to more rigorous drug tests than competitors from other countries. The Russian Olympic Committee said it is investigating the alleged doping as a crime against Krushelnitsky, and Russian Curling Federation senior vice president Andrei Sozin pointed fingers at U.S. security services, saying they somehow “put something” in the athlete’s water or testing sample. Both Sozin and the official statement from the delegation claimed meldonium would not help a curler. The delegation said meldonium would be “absolutely useless and ineffective” if the intent was to enhance performance.