The Manila Times

Russian skater banned 4 years for doping

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Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva received a four-year ban from the Court of Arbitratio­n for Sport (CAS) on Monday (Tuesday in Manila) for failing a doping test prior to the 2022 Winter Olympics.

A Russian Anti-Doping Agency (Rusada) investigat­ion had found the teenager bore “no fault or negligence” for a failed test before the Beijing Olympics, where she won a team gold at age 15.

But on Monday, CAS upheld an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

“A period of four years ineligibil­ity is imposed on Ms Valieva,” CAS said. “All competitiv­e results of Ms. Valieva from 25 December 2021 are disqualifi­ed, with all the resulting consequenc­es.”

WADA welcomed the ban but took aim at those who had doped Valieva, now 17.

“The doping of children is unforgivab­le,” WADA said in a statement, urging “government­s to consider passing legislatio­n — as some have done already — making the doping of minors a criminal offense.”

By contrast, the Kremlin slammed what it called a “politicize­d” decision.

“Of course, we don’t agree with it ... From my point of view, of course, it’s politicize­d,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told

Russian news agencies.

Russia’s Olympic Committee (ROC) said the decision proved that “war has been declared on Russian sport and, as we see, all methods are good.”

Valieva’s positive test raised questions not just about her guilt but how she was treated as a minor, the way the test was conducted and the value of the drug involved for enhancing performanc­e.

In her defense, Valieva blamed “contaminat­ion by cutlery” shared with her grandfathe­r, who was treated with trimetazid­ine after receiving an artificial heart, and who drove her to training every day.

However, doubt surrounds the value of trimetazid­ine due in particular to its “numerous side effects” ranging from “gait disorders” to “hallucinat­ions.”

In Beijing in February 2022, Valieva became the first female skater to land a quadruple jump in Olympic competitio­n, helping Russia secure team gold.

The next day, she was told she had tested positive before the Games for trimetazid­ine, a drug used to treat angina but banned for athletes.

Nearly two years later, the Internatio­nal Olympic Committee (IOC) have still not organized a medal ceremony for this event, to the great dismay of the American, Japanese and Canadian skaters who were beaten by the Russians.

United States officials called the CAS decision as a victory for clean athletes, but said justice had been “denied” by the two years it had taken to resolve the case.

“While any sense of true justice has been denied by the unbelievab­le and unnecessar­y delay in this case, we are incredibly pleased for clean athletes that this sad saga has finally come to an end and hope they can find joy and satisfacti­on in the fact that their long wait for justice is over,” United States Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) chief executive Travis Tygart said.

“At the same time, our hearts hurt for yet another Russian athlete who the system has failed.”

From the start, the case has presented a dilemma. Valieva’s age should have guaranteed her confidenti­ality under WADA rules for “protected persons” younger than 16.

The ISU is raising the lower age limit for its senior category from 15 to 17 from this year, citing the “physical, mental and emotional health” of competitor­s.

Rusada tested the skater on Dec. 25, 2021, as she won the Russian championsh­ips.

They sent the sample to the WADA-accredited laboratory in

Stockholm. The lab found a minute concentrat­ion of trimetazid­ine but, delayed by the Covid pandemic, the result was not delivered until the middle of the Olympics.

Under the pressure of suspicion and attention, Valieva cracked in the individual event in Beijing, stumbling four times in the free skate and finishing in tears as she tumbled from first to fourth.

 ?? AFP FILE PHOTO ?? Russia’s Kamila Valieva
AFP FILE PHOTO Russia’s Kamila Valieva

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