“Misuse”: WADA is going to challenge the cancellation of the temporary suspension of figure skater Valieva in CAS

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has announced its intention to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the decision of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) Disciplinary Committee to lift the provisional suspension of Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva.

As stated in the press service of WADA, the basis for an appeal is the “improper application” of the World Anti-Doping Code, TASS reports.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin is convinced that the situation with Valieva is a misunderstanding, and urges to wait for the completion of the proceedings. “Now we are convinced that we are talking about some kind of misunderstanding. Our sports officials have certain questions about the timing of testing Valieva’s samples, ”said Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation.

For its part, the lawyer of the company “CleverConsult” and the former and. O. The head of RUSADA, Anna Antselovich, in an interview with RBC, expressed the opinion that Valieva’s lawyers need to prove that the unfavorable result of the doping test was caused by the use of a contaminated product, and this will help resolve the issue positively for the athlete.

Recall that a difficult situation has developed around the 15-year-old Valieva. On Friday, it was confirmed that the doping test of the figure skater, taken on December 25, 2021 (before the start of the Beijing Olympics) at the Russian Championships, which was held in St. Petersburg, tested positive for the banned cardiac drug trimetazidine.

“The result was reported by the WADA-accredited anti-doping laboratory in Stockholm on February 8th. After that, the athlete was conditionally suspended by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA),” the International Testing Agency (ITA) said in a statement. However, Valieva protested the suspension, and on February 9, RUSADA decided to lift it.

Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee has filed an appeal against the ruling with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). “A decision on the result of the Russian skaters in the team tournament can only be made after a final decision on the merits of the case has been made,” the ITA said in a statement.

Earlier at the Olympics, the awards ceremony for Russian figure skaters was postponed.

We add that the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) issued a special statement stating that while Valieva has the right to train and take part in competitions. Moreover, the ROC made it clear that in order to protect the rights and interests of the Russian figure skater, “qualified lawyers were involved in this case, who provide the athlete with all the necessary legal assistance,” and everything will be done to keep the won gold medal in figure skating for the Russian team.