The journalists who broke the story of Russian skater Kamila Valieva’s positive drugs test on Wednesday say they have faced death threats, abuse, and warnings they should check their tea.
A separate newspaper journalist who asked Valieva whether she was a doper on Friday has also faced intense criticism from Russian members of parliament and online.
Such was the anger in Russia when Duncan Mackay and Michael Pavitt of the Inside the Games website initially broke the story that Valieva had failed a test that both men were deluged with messages dismissing their reporting as lies – until the Independent Testing Agency confirmed it was true on Friday.
Pavitt confirmed that Mackay had faced death threats while he had also been subjected to “significant” abuse. Other members of the team said they were also confronted by Russian journalists in the main media centre in Beijing.
Meanwhile Mackay was al …
- February 15, 2022
