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Kamiela Valieva appeared on the ice again on Saturday morning in Beijing for a morning training session. After a positive doping test in December, the Russian figure skater is the subject of a lawsuit in summary proceedings before the TAS, which will decide on Monday whether the world record holder can participate in the individual women’s competition on Tuesday.
Maarten Delvaux in Beijing
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There was again a lot of press interest for Valieva’s morning training. The 15-year-old figure skating superstar was not unmoved this time. Miss Perfect made a remarkable number of mistakes before she did and that threw her off the hook. She once fell while performing a triple axel, a jump she normally performs effortlessly. Moments later, she went in tears to her controversial coach Eteri Tutberidze, who gave her a big hug.
When leaving the training room through the mixed zone, Valieva did not talk to the press, Tutberidze did give a reaction for the first time. “I am absolutely sure that Valieva is clean and innocent. Her positive doping test is either an unfortunate coincidence or a conspiracy. We are always on the side of our athletes. In good and bad times, until the end. Justice will eventually be done.”
Monday verdict
The International Sports Tribunal TAS will rule in the doping case on Monday. The body confirmed this on Saturday. The three judges are planning video hearings on Sunday and will announce their verdict a day later. This will therefore provide clarity before the start of individual competition at the Winter Games, as the IOC expressly wished.
“We want a fair trial and we want that as soon as possible. We want this resolved as soon as possible,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams told a press conference in Beijing on Saturday.
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Valieva tested positive for the banned product trimetazidine on December 25. The Russian anti-doping agency had imposed a provisional suspension on the 15-year-old top talent on Tuesday after the positive test became known, but after an appeal from the figure skater, that decision was reversed a day later, allowing her to stay at the Games. The IOC and the World Anti-Doping Agency WADA subsequently appealed the lifting of that suspension. The ball is now in the court of the International Sports Tribunal TAS.
Valieva has already competed with the national team at these Games, with which she won gold, and is also the top favorite for the individual competition. IOC spokesman Adams said on Saturday that he was “very confident” that the matter would be resolved before Tuesday, when the Russian must return to action. “We all want the focus to be on the sport and not on potential doping cases,” he added.
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