WADA not happy with Russian doping verdict

The doping case of Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva left a “very unpleasant” taste with the World Anti-doping Agency, which is unhappy the teenager was the only one punished with a ban while her coaches and entourage have not been sanctioned.

WADA now wants anti-doping rules to be updated before the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy to give more powers to investigate athlete entourages, officials said at the anti-doping body’s annual conference.

“It is clear the taste of this case is very unpleasant when you see there was a choice made to sacrifice an athlete rather than indicating who actually helped her dope,” WADA director general Olivier Niggli said. Valieva was given a four-year ban by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in January following an appeal by WADA. She was 15 when her positive test for a banned heart medication was revealed at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, and later blamed on a strawberry dessert prepared by her grandfather. She has been the only person punished despite the World Anti-doping Code mandating the people working with underage athletes implicated in doping cases should also be investigated.

The responsibility to conduct those investigations falls on national authorities and there is no sign that Valieva’s renowned coach, Eteri Tutberidze, and medical support staff will be held to account in Russia.

“We think the athlete didn’t take this substance alone, it was not her initiative,” WADA president Witold Banka said.

“She faced the consequences.”

Tutberidze was last year awarded one of Russia’s highest honours authorized by President Vladimir Putin. Tutberidze is now coaching a new generation of teenage Russian skaters preparing for the 2026 Milan-cortina d’ampezzo Olympics.