MARQUETTE, Mich. — Bowling Green defenseman Ralfs Freibergs is suspected of failing a drug test while playing for Latvia at the Olympics in Sochi, Russia, this month, according to a Latvian media report on website LSV.lv.
Bowling Green, which is at Northern Michigan in WCHA play this weekend, has been in contact with the NCAA and Freibergs, a sophomore, is eligible to play Friday against the Wildcats.
“We have not received any confirmation of a positive drug test — Ralfs nor us,” Bowling Green athletics communications director Jason Knavel said. “So that’s where we are at, in all honesty.”
According to another article by LSM.lv, Freibergs denied testing positive, saying he tested negative both before and after the Olympics.
Jason Mirtle of The Globe and Mail in Toronto reported that the Latvian men’s hockey team is facing disqualification from the Olympics because a second player is suspected of testing positive for a banned substance in Sochi. The second player is still under investigation and has not been named by the International Olympic Committee.
Latvia’s Vitalijs Pavlovs tested positive for methylhexaneamine (dimethylpentylamine) after Latvia’s 2-1 quarterfinal loss to Canada, according to The Globe and Mail. While one positive drug test won’t disqualify a hockey team from the Olympics, a second will.
The report by Latvia Public Media does not cite what Freibergs may have tested positive for in Sochi, nor does The Globe and Mail report what the second Latvian is suspected to have tested positive for.
Methylhexaneamine is on the NCAA’s list of banned substances, listed under stimulants.
According to a report by Kevin Gordon of the Bowling Green Sentinel-Tribune, BGSU has reached out to the World Anti-Doping Agency but has not heard back from the organization that oversees drug testing for the IOC.
Freibergs has appeared in 30 games this season for the Falcons, totaling two goals and 18 assists. He was the only current men’s college player to take part in the Sochi Olympics.
At the start of the 2012-13 season, Freibergs was suspended for 33 games by the NCAA for playing in a professional league before coming to the United States to play junior hockey.
