The Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva received a four-year doping suspension, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) announced today. The CAS decision effectively strips the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) of its gold medal in the team event from the 2022 Beijing Games.
"Kamila Valieva has violated the anti-doping rules and as a result is serving a four-year ban commencing on December 25, 2021," the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport said in a statement.
It also added that all results achieved by the Russian after the date in question have been voided, including the gold medal she helped the ROC win during the team event at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Valieva's positive test for a banned heart drug was revealed after winning the Olympic team title and more than six weeks after the sample was taken at the National Championships, which she won in St Petersburg. Since the gold has now been taken from the Russians, the final ranking will be changed and so the USA will win the title, while Japan and Canada will claim silver and bronze respectivelly.
Valieva's defense was that her positive doping test came after contamination - possibly from a glass or plate, from tablets that her grandfather claimed he took. She finished fourth in the women's individual event in Beijing, making many mistakes amid the tension surrounding her positive test. A previous CAS panel in the Chinese capital had allowed her to continue competing regardless of the positive test.
A panel of judges from the Court of Arbitration for Sport heard three days of testimony in September and two more in November. Valieva testified via video link from Russia. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) requested a ban until December 2025. Valieva has not competed in international tournaments since Beijing because of the International Figure Skating Federation's ban on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. /BGNES
