Wearing a ‘I Don’t Do Doping’ shirt might not fool Olympics drug testers

The Russian Bobsled Federation says that a drug-test sample given by Nadezhda Sergeeva at the 2018 Winter Olympics was positive.

The Russian disinformation campaign may not be limited to tweets and memes. We may not be able to trust slogans on casual sportswear either.

Just weeks after sporting a sweatshirt emblazoned with the phrase “I don’t do doping” in Pyeongchang, Russian bobsledder Nadezhda Sergeeva had a drug-test sample test positive at the 2018 Winter Olympics, according to The Associated Press.

Sergeeva was the pilot on a two-woman bobsled team that finished 14th on Feb. 21. The incriminating sample that tested positive for trimetazidine — an angina medication that also affects metabolism — was taken on the 18th, according to a statement from Russian delegation.

“She confirms she took no such medication and the team confirms she was not issued any medication,” Russian Bobsled Federation President Alexander Zubkov told The Associated Press on Friday, adding that “Federation representatives at the Olympics” are preparing a defense of Sergeeva.

They may need to do better than that shirt.

Sergeeva is competing under the “Olympic Athletes from Russia” designation because Russia was banned from participation in the Pyeongchang Games for a state-sponsored doping program. Previously at the 2018 Olympics, Russian curler Alexander Krushelnitsky stated he would return his bronze medal after failing a drug test.