CAS disqualifies Russian figure skater Valieva for four years due to doping
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has ruled on the doping case of Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva. The verdict was published on the court’s website.
The athlete was disqualified for four years. The period of suspension starts on December 25, 2021. The court considered that Valieva could not prove the absence of intention to take doping. Thus, the figure skater will be deprived of gold for winning the team tournament at the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing as part of the Russian team.
However, CAS did not consider the results of the 2022 Olympic team figure skating tournament. In this case, the decision must be made by the International Skating Union (ISU) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
CAS hearings were held in the fall of 2023
The hearings in Valieva’s case took place at the CAS headquarters in Lausanne (Switzerland) in two stages. They began in September, but the court decided to postpone them due to the preparation of new documentation and its study by all interested parties. Hearings continued in November. The arbitrators were Englishman James Drake, American Jeffrey Mishkin and Frenchman Matthew Maisonneuve.
During the event, four parties spoke: the skater herself, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the International Skating Union (ISU) and the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA)
At the hearing, it became known about a procedural violation on the part of WADA: Valieva did not receive notification from the organization that her sample gave a positive result.
WADA insisted on Valieva’s disqualification
In November 2022, WADA expressed concern about the delay in Valieva’s case and contacted CAS. The organization demanded to disqualify the athlete for four years from the date of the decision, cancel her results starting December 25, 2021, and deprive her of all medals and prize money.
WADA challenged the position on the accidental entry of doping into Valieva’s body
The IOC supported WADA’s decision. The committee noted that they were upset by the current situation and shared the disappointment of the athletes affected by it.
Valieva was stripped of the title of Russian champion 2022
On January 13, 2023, the RUSADA disciplinary committee, which is a body independent from the main organization, informed WADA of Valieva’s innocence. At the same time, the skater was deprived of gold at the 2022 Russian Championship, since the sample was taken during the tournament.
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After this, the ISU and WADA filed appeals with CAS. The organizations again called for the athlete to be disqualified and her results annulled.
Valieva found herself at the center of a doping scandal during the 2022 Olympic Games
On February 7, 2022, Valieva, who was 15 years old at the time, won gold in the team tournament as part of the Russian national team. Two days later, it became known that one of the skater’s doping tests showed a dubious result. Because of this, the award ceremony was postponed.
Later it became known that traces of the prohibited drug trimetazidine were found in Valieva’s sample dated December 25, 2021. CAS has decided to hold online hearings as part of a visiting panel.
The most likely route for the athlete to enter the body of a prohibited substance is through everyday interactions with her grandfather, who is taking trimetazidine after heart surgery and usually carries this medication with him.
It was noted that the drug could not have any effect on improving the figure skater’s athletic performance. Attention was also paid to the fact that due to Valieva’s age she had the status of a “protected person”.
The IOC, WADA and ISU demanded that Valieva be removed from the personal tournament, but CAS allowed her to participate in the competition, where the skater took fourth place
Source: Lenta
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