PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — Russian sports officials said Tuesday they had started a criminal investigation into how the banned drug meldonium entered the system of the Olympic curler Alexander Krushelnytsky, whose failed test was a serious blow to Russia’s chances of rehabilitation from a doping scandal that tainted the country’s performances at the past several Olympics.
Krushelnytsky’s initial failed drug test was confirmed by a second test, but Russian officials said in a statement Tuesday that the level of the drug found in his system suggested he took the drug just once, something that would be “absolutely useless and ineffective in the context of enhancing physical performance or sports results.