Russian teen skater to continue with Beijing Olympics after doping case
Moscow, Feb 14 (EFE).- The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) Monday allowed figure skater Kamila Valieva to continue competing in the Beijing Olympics despite a failed drug test in December.
The court rejected appeals, which challenged a decision of the Russian doping agency (RUSADA) to lift a ban against the 15-year-old athlete.
The panel of arbitrators said that preventing Valieva from competing at the Games would cause “her irreparable harm.”
It comprised the body’s president Fabio Iudica of Italy, and Jeffrey Benz and Vesna Bergant Rakočeviċ of the United States and Slovenia.
“The panel considered fundamental principles of fairness, proportionality, irreparable harm, and the relative balance of interests as between the applicants and the athlete, who did not test positive during the Olympic Games in Beijing,” the arbitrators said in a statement.
The panel said that Valieva, a “protected rerson” under the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC) for being under 16, “is still subject to a disciplinary procedure on the merits following the positive anti-doping test undertaken in December 2021.”
The figure skater tested positive for trimetazidine, a drug prescribed to treat angina pectoris, which is on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances.
The skater got tested in December, but the results came out after the Beijing Olympics had already kicked off.
The Stockholm laboratory, which performed the analysis, communicated the positive test to the various parties on Feb.8, a day after the Russian team won gold in the team event.
Valieva was a part of the winning team.
The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) provisionally suspended Valieva with immediate effect and prevented her from carrying on with Beijing 2022.
The medal ceremony for the event was postponed, which revealed the doping claim despite the silence of the agencies involved.
The skater appealed the decision on Feb.9.
The RUSADA disciplinary committee accepted the appeal, allowing Valieva to resume the Games.
The International Olympic Committee, the World Anti-Doping Agency, and the International Skating Union appealed the Russian agency’s decision.
It means that Valieva can compete in the women’s competition on Tuesday. EFE
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