Kamila Valieva allowed to continue competing at Olympics despite doping scandal

Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva will be allowed to continue competing at the Beijing Winter Olympics despite failing a pre-Games drug test.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled after a quick meeting that “no provisional suspension should be imposed” on the 15-year-old. The ruling only ensures that Valieva can continue competing until her case is resolved, meaning a decision on the Russian Olympic Committee’s team figure skating gold medal has not yet been determined.

In the event, the phenom became the first woman to land quadruple jumps at the Olympics.

Canada finished fourth in the team event and would earn bronze if ROC is disqualified.

The ruling also means any medal Valieva wins going forward could be withdrawn if she’s determined to be guilty. She’s considered the favourite in the women’s singles competition – an event where the ROC could sweep the podium.

Whether Valieva is guilty of doping or gets stripped of her medal will be determined in a Russian Anti-Doping Agency-led investigation. The teenager tested positive for trimetazidine – a drug used to treat heart conditions – at the Russian national competition on Dec. 25, but the results from a Swedish lab didn’t come in until last week.

In its decision, the CAS cited that Valieva, as a minor, is a “protected person” under the World Anti-Doping Code.

The court also said it considered the “fundamental principles of fairness, proportionality, irreparable harm, and the relative balance of interests as between the applicants and the athlete,” noting that Valieva had not tested positive during the Games, but in December 2021.

“The Panel considered that preventing the athlete from competing at the Olympic Games would cause her irreparable harm in these circumstances,” the release read.

Lastly, the court stated that the “untimely” notification of the test results – which was not Valieva’s fault – prevented her from establishing “certain legal requirements for her benefit.”

The Russian Anti-Doping Agency suspended Valieva immediately after she tested positive, but reinstated her a day later – a decision that was appealed by the International Olympic Committee, leading to the hearing that took place Sunday night in Beijing.

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