Spanish figure skater Laura Barquero fails doping test at 2022 Winter Olympics

Spanish figure skater Laura Barquero failed a doping test at the recently concluded 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

The International Testing Agency (ITA) has informed that Barquero tested positive for the banned steroid clostebol on February 21. She became the fourth athlete to test positive for a banned substance during the global event. 20-year-old Barquero and her partner Marco Zandron finished 11th in the pairs skating short program.

The sample was collected under the testing authority of the International Olympic Committee on February 18 during the pair’s skating short program. The case will be heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The ITA said in a statement:

“The result was reported by the WADA-accredited laboratory in Beijing on 21 February 2022. The athlete has been informed of the case. She has the right to request the analysis of the B-sample. We are waiting for the result of the counter-test, a result that every athlete has the right to request. Given that the case is underway, there will be no further comments during the ongoing proceeding."

Other athletes' positive drugs test results at 2022 Winter Olympics

The 2022 Winter Olympics witnessed its fair share of controversies. A huge story at the event was the doping scandal involving 15-year-old Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva.

The 15-year-old tested positive for trimetazidine on December 25, 2021. Trimetazidine is a metabolic agent prescribed for the treatment of angina and vertigo, which also boosts endurance.

Other participants who tested positive for banned substances were Ukrainian bobsledder Lidiia Hunko, Iranian skier Hossein Saveh-Shemshaki and Ukrainian cross-country skier Valentyna Kaminska. All these athletes tested positive for prohibited substances during the 2022 Beijing Olympics.