Russian Winter Olympics medallist charged with doping

Russian curler Alexander Krushelnitsky, who won bronze at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, has been charged with doping offence after testing positive for a banned substance, confirms the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

The Russian is now likely to be stripped of his Olympic medal which he won with his wife Anastasia Bryzgalova in mixed doubles event last week.

Russia was banned from competing at the Winter Olympics because of state-sponsored doping at the 2014 Games in Sochi.

However, 168 Russian athletes are allowed to compete in the Games under a neutral flag.

According to The Guardian, Krushelnitsky has alleged that a team-mate, who was not selected for the Winter Olympics, spiked his drink with Meldonium during training before he travelled to Pyeongchang.

Russian Curling Federation president Dmitry Svishchev expressed shock over the news and said curlers had already been tested on January 22 before flying out to South Korea and all tests were found to be negative.

"Only a crazy person takes banned substances before a competition, before the Olympics. It's a strange story. It raises a lot of questions," Svishchev said.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport opened a case against Krushelnitsky following a request from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

No hearing date has been fixed yet in the matter.