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Speedskate champ's Meldonium positive test

Five-time world champion speedskater Pavel Kulizhnikov might face a life ban after testing positive for the banned drug Meldonium.

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Source: AAP


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Five-times world champion Pavel Kulizhnikov is one of three Russian speedskaters who have tested positive for the banned drug Meldonium, the International Skating Union has announced.

The B samples of Olympic short track gold medallist Semion Elistratov and 2015 European short track champion Ekaterina Konstantinova also tested positive.

"The results of the B sample do not change anything for us," Russian Skating Union president Alexei Kravtsov told the R-Sport news agency on Friday.

"We are still confident that our athletes are not guilty and we will defend them."

Meldonium was added on January 1 to the World Anti-Doping Agency's list of banned substances.

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Kulizhnikov, 21, served a suspension for doping violations between 2012 and 2014 and a second positive test could leave him facing a life ban.


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