Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva did not commit “no fault or negligence” in the doping case which shook the Beijing Winter Olympics (OG) in February 2022. These are the conclusions of the Russian disciplinary tribunal, revealed on Friday January 13 by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
The teenager had won Olympic gold in the team event under the banner of the Russian Olympic Committee, before it was announced that a sample, taken two months earlier, had tested positive for the substance trimetazidine prohibited; the laboratory that was to analyze it had been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, which had delayed its examination. No sanction has been pronounced by the Russian authorities, apart from the cancellation of its results on the date of the sample, i.e. December 25, 2021.
WADA thought “preoccupied” by these conclusions and specified that it would not hesitate to exercise its right of appeal before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). WADA requested the full conclusion to be able to analyze it. The Russian anti-doping agency, for its part, did not release the verdict. She had already declared that she would not publish any results related to this case, because the young woman was only 15 years old at the time of the facts.
Great favorite for the individual coronation
Before the announcement of this control, Kamila Valieva had impressed on the Beijing ice, where she had made the first quadruple women’s jumps in Olympic history. Her fate was one of the soap operas of the competition while the young Russian, a pure product of the champion factory of the severe trainer Eteri Tutberidze in Moscow, was a big favorite for the coronation in the individual event.
The Russian anti-doping agency had temporarily suspended the teenager, before the CAS, without ruling on the merits of the case, authorized her to continue competition. Its judges then considered that“preventing the athlete from competing in the Olympics would cause him irreparable harm”, his young age also implying specific rules of evidence and reduced penalties. After having managed to dominate the short program in a heavy climate, she had collapsed in the free program to finally finish at the foot of the podium (4e) in tears.
The International Olympic Committee did not award medals for the team event, pending the results of the investigation into his case. The United States, in silver, could end up with gold.