Russian bobsledder who failed doping test once wore anti-doping shirt
File this one under “life comes at you fast.”
Russian bobsled pilot Nadezhda Sergeeva failed a doping test last week, the country’s federation announced, the second Russian athlete to do so during the Winter Olympics.
Making this all the more awkward? Via Greg Walters of Vice News, Sergeeva appeared in an online video prior to the Olympics wearing a shirt that proudly proclaimed “I Don’t Do Doping.”
Russian Bobsledder Nadezdha Sergeeva tests positive to doping days after appearing with an "I don't do doping" T-shirt in an online advert. pic.twitter.com/UEIUVhZYYs
— Latipha Adebayo Ohio (@Phatill) February 23, 2018
Unsurprisingly, the video that featured this apparel has swiftly been taken off Youtube.
Russia had already been troubled by a state-sponsored doping operation that resulted in many athletes — and the federation itself — being officially banned from the Olympics. The first doping allegation of these Games has already created an awkward situation, but there will be no such issue here, as Sergeeva’s Russian bobsled team finished 15th, well out of medal contention.