Nicklas Backstrom was unavailable for Team Sweden in their 3-0 gold medal game loss to Canada this morning after reportedly failing a drug test due to a banned substance in his allergy medicine.
BREAKING: Swedish Olympic official says hockey player Nicklas Backstrom fails doping test at #Sochi2014 Games.
— The Associated Press (@AP) February 23, 2014
The team originally announced that Backstrom would be out due to ‘migraines’ however Yahoo!’s Greg Wyshynski provided us with more details surrounding what happened.
An NHLPA source tells Yahoo Sports that Backstrom violated anti-doping rules after using an allergy medication. Some, like Claritin, contain pseudoephedrine, a banned substance by the IOC and the World Anti-Doping Federation
The source said he was pulled from the locker room before Sweden’s pregame skate, after being announced in the starting lineup. The source indicated he was tested on Friday.
Kinda lame. The good news though for Backstrom is he likely won’t face any punishment from the NHL.
