Despite a positive doping test, gold favorite Kamila Valiyeva is allowed to start in the Olympic figure skating singles. The Court of Arbitration for Sport, Cas, on Monday, after summary proceedings at the Winter Games in Beijing, rejected the appeals against the lifting of their provisional ban. As one of the reasons for the decision, the Cas named the age of the 15-year-old, who as a minor was a “protected person” under the code of the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada). In addition, given the unclear evidence and the delays in the evaluation of the doping test, it would be unfair to refuse the Russian from participating in the women’s singles.
The doping affair about the exceptional figure skating talent is not just about clean sport at the Beijing Games. Russia’s reputation, which has been damaged since the state doping scandal, is also being put to the test again. The International Olympic Committee and Wada did not want to accept the lifting of a provisional ban on the 15-year-old European champion. She had led the Russian team to Olympic victory before her positive doping test of December 25, 2021 at the national championships in Saint Petersburg became known.
Valiyeva was temporarily suspended by the national anti-doping agency Rusada on February 8 because the results of the test were allegedly only transmitted so late by the Stockholm laboratory. The Rusada named February 7 as the date for the receipt of the findings. The reasons given for the delay were the current corona situation and sick laboratory staff. The banned heart drug trimetazidine was detected in Valiyeva’s sample.
Rusada also reported that it had initiated an investigation into other people close to the athlete because she was a minor. However, on February 9, Valiyeva’s appeal against the ban was overturned by the Rusada Disciplinary Committee.
For Russia, the dispute is about more than just the doping offense in figure skating
That’s why the IOC, Wada and the World Skating Federation turned on the Cas fast court in Beijing. Under the chairmanship of the Italian Fabio Iudica, there was a more than five-hour hearing of the parties to the proceedings via video link on Sunday. Valiyeva herself also testified before the sports lawyers.
The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) considers the procedure to be illegal. According to the ROC, Valiyeva’s doping test does not apply to the period of the Winter Games. In addition, other doping tests from her at the European Championships in January and in Beijing were negative.
The trigger for the whirl was the postponement of the medal ceremony for the figure skating teams – the USA and Japan had won silver and bronze. The award has not yet taken place. The IOC in particular pushed for a quick clarification of the case, because the women’s singles starts on Tuesday. In addition to Valiyeva, Russia has also nominated world champion Anna Scherbakowa and world championship runner-up Alexandra Trusova, both 17.
For Russia, the dispute is about more than just the doping offense in figure skating. The country is under lockdown for organized manipulation and the cover-up of sports fraud, as it was at the Tokyo Summer Games. The Russian athletes may only compete as representatives of the ROC. The Russian anthem may not be played and the flag may not be hoisted at award ceremonies. A two-year Olympic ban expires at the end of the year.
