KAmila Valiyeva, the world’s best figure skater, tested positive for the heart drug trimetazidine, which is on the doping list, on December 25 at the Russian Figure Skating Championships in Saint Petersburg. This was confirmed by the International Testing Agency (ITA), responsible for the anti-doping program at the Winter Games, on Friday in Beijing.
Accordingly, Valiyeva’s sample was analyzed by the anti-doping laboratory in Stockholm. The background is the fact that the Russian anti-doping laboratory in Moscow is still not accredited. The Russian anti-doping agency Rusada was informed of the positive result on February 8th, i.e. after the end of the Olympic team competition. Rusada initially blocked Valiyeva for the time being, but lifted the block after she objected. The 15-year-old athlete resumed training in Beijing on Thursday.
On behalf of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the ITA will now appeal against Rusada’s lifting of the provisional ban before the ad hoc panel of the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which is responsible for Olympic cases. A decision is being sought before the women’s individual competition, which begins next Tuesday with the short program.
This has shed light on the matter that has been making headlines in Beijing for the past 48 hours – without it being clear whether Valiyeva, despite a positive doping test, can compete in the competition for which she is the big favorite. A decision on the impact on the outcome of the team competition, which Russia won ahead of the United States, will have to wait even longer. The ITA announced that the International Skating Union would only decide on this after the conclusion of all proceedings that could still be pending in the Valiyeva case.
Forbidden remedy
The trimetazidine found in the doping sample is a heart drug that improves blood flow and is used to treat angina. At the Winter Olympics in South Korea four years ago, Russian bobsledder Nadezhda Sergeyeva tested positive. Chinese swimming star Sun Yang also tested positive for trimetazidine at the 2014 Chinese Championships and was banned for three months. This doping case was only communicated after the ban had expired.
IOC spokesman Mark Adams did not want to comment on the development in the morning at the daily press conference with reference to the procedure now being sought at the CAS. In dealing with the Russian state fraud program in the past, the IOC had always emphasized that it wanted to offer a “new, young generation” of Russian athletes a chance.
When dealing with the Valiyeva case, the question arises whether the Russian coaches and the Russian association will give their athletes this opportunity, given the age of the skater. Valiyeva’s trainer Eteri Tutberidze is known for her demanding approach to extremely talented but also extremely young figure skaters.
The code of the World Anti-Doping Agency, which the IOC but not the ITA has signed, provides for a ban of up to two years in doping cases of “protected persons” – i.e. athletes under the age of 16, but also the possibility of one lower penalty up to a warning. The discretion of the arbitrator should be based on the fault of the protected person. An essential question is therefore how the drug got into Valiyeva’s body and who administered it to her and with what motive. For coaches and other caregivers who administer prohibited substances to a minor, the code provides a minimum penalty of four years’ suspension.