Russian Paralympian stripped of Sochi medals for doping

11 years after winning the medals at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russian Paralympian Nikolay Polukhin was denied entry for breaking anti-doping regulations.

Polukhin, a paralympic athlete, provided urine samples that had been tampered with during the Games, according to the independent International Paralympic Committee (IPC) independent anti-doping tribunal, an event that was overshadowed by Russian state-sponsored doping.

During the Games, Polukhin provided “clean” urine that could be ‘swapping’ with samples that had tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ) as evidenced by DNA testing.

A medication called TMZ that increases heart rate and promotes glucose metabolism, which can increase endurance, increases blood flow to the heart.

The sample bottle had “scratches and marks, and a urine residue tooth mark that could only have been caused by someone closing, opening, then closing, then reclosing the sample bottle,” according to forensic analysis of the sample.

The Sochi laboratory’s urine analysis in 2018 revealed that the composition of the urine had changed since then, according to the tribunal.

Polukhin, 42, will lose both his gold medal and silver medal from the same event, which he won in the men’s para-biathlon competition for 15 km for visually impaired runners-up.

The tribunal determined that the athlete’s behavior at the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games was “particularly egregious” and “significantly undermined the integrity of the event.”

According to the report, Polukhin denied giving “any logical or plausible explanation” for the evidence of sample substitution with his urine.

Polukhin’s complaint to the Court of Arbitration for Sport was later dropped after he failed to pay the cost advance.

The tribunal rendered its decision on September 25, 2024, but under the law, it was required to wait until the appeals process was over.

The resolution of this case, according to the IPC’s anti-doping head, draws a line from a long investigation into possible anti-doping violations by Russian athletes at the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi.

Between 2012 and 2015, the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) provided evidence relating to the state-sponsored doping program in Russian sport.

In order to conceal presumptive adverse analytical findings, the Moscow and Sochi laboratories traded out “dirty” urine samples for “clean” ones at the time.

Russian athletes were prohibited from competing under their flag between 2015 and 2018 before Wada implemented a fourth-year ban in 2019.

Russian athletes were required to compete under a “neutral” flag until December 16th, 2022 when the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced the suspension to two years.

Since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has been prohibited from competing in sporting events.

One of two athletes found to have broken anti-doping laws at Sochi 2014 is Polukhin. Igor Stella, an Italian para-ice hockey player, was the other, whose case was made public during the Games.