Attorneys for Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva argued that the banned substance trimetazidine entered her system through a medication that her grandfather takes, a member of the International Olympic Committee confirmed Tuesday.
In a scrum with reporters after the IOC's daily press briefing, a reporter asked IOC member Denis Oswald if the IOC was aware of the explanation that Valieva, 15, offered to the Russian Anti-Doping Agency in an appeal hearing earlier this month.
"I was not in this hearing," Oswald said. "Her argument was this contamination which happened with a product her grandfather was taking."
The crux of Valieva's defense had been previously reported Monday by The Dossier Center, a website run by exiled Russian businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky. The website said it obtained audio of Valieva's hearing with RUSADA, which it said lasted 90 minutes.
According to The Dossier Center, Valieva's attorney, Anna Kozmenko, argued in the hearing that trimetazidine entered the 15-year-old's body accidentally, through a contaminated product. She also argued in the hearing that the product likely belonged to Valieva's grandfather, who takes trimetazidine for heart issues, according to the website.
