The International Testing Agency said on Tuesday that Spanish figure skater Laura Barquero had tested positive for the prohibited steroid clostebol, making her the fourth athlete to fail a doping test at the Beijing Olympics.
On Saturday, Barquero and her partner Marco Zandron finished 11th in the pairs category. Her positive sample was supplied after the short program on Friday, according to the ITA, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport will hear the case.
In a statement, the Spanish Olympic Committee claimed it had received word of the unusual discovery of a “Spanish athlete,” but did not name the skater.
“The Spanish Olympic Committee is awaiting the results of the counter-test, which every athlete has the right to request,” the statement said.
In addition to Barquero, Iranian Alpine skier Hossein Saveh Shemshaki and two Ukrainians, cross-country skier Valentyna Kaminska and bobsledder Lidiia Hunko, had positive tests in Beijing.
Kamila Valieva, a fifteen-year-old Russian figure skater, made headlines at the Olympics after a sample she submitted before the Games tested positive for a prohibited drug. Valieva was permitted to continue skating in Beijing in part because of her advanced age, which grants her additional anti-doping privileges. She might still lose the gold medal she won in the team event if the lab results aren’t released.
