PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — A Russian athlete who won a bronze medal in curling at the Winter Olympics here has failed a preliminary doping test, putting in jeopardy his medal and Russia’s efforts to move past a vast, state-backed cheating scheme that left it nominally barred from the Games.
The athlete, Alexander Krushelnytsky, who competed in mixed doubles curling with his wife, is the first athlete from Russia to come under investigation for using a banned substance at these Games.
Traces of meldonium, a heart medicine that increases blood flow and has been banned from most sports since 2016, were found in a routine urine sample.