The Russian figure skater was engulfed in a scandal at the Winter Olympics in Beijing
World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) chairman Witold Banka has said he expects a hearing in Russia into the case of figure skater Kamila Valieva to be held “soon”.
Valieva emerged as the biggest story at the Beijing Winter Olympics in February after it was reported that she had tested positive for the banned heart drug trimetazidine in a sample taken several weeks before the Games began.
Valieva, who was 15 at the time, had already helped Russia to gold in the team event in Beijing before the news broke.
The scandal seemed to take its toll when she dropped to fourth in the individual competition despite being the heavy favorite for gold.
Instead, the title went to Russian Anna Shcherbakova, with compatriot Alexandra Trusova taking silver.
Valieva’s case is in the hands of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), which has been asked to resolve the investigation no later than August 8.
To talk to Inside the gamesWADA chief Banka said he expects important developments shortly, but warned against firm deadlines due to the complexity.
“We expect them [RUSADA] must organize the hearing soon, Banka said.
“This is our expectation and I think they will do it soon. If we are not satisfied, we can always use the option to go directly to CAS [the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland].
“Let’s give ourselves some time to assess it. This month RUSADA has asked for documents and materials so it’s not like they stopped activities.
“They are following through and as far as I know they are planning to organize the hearing fairly soon. We will be monitoring it.”
Valieva’s positive doping test was only reported after she helped the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) to team gold in Beijing, despite being tested about six weeks earlier at the Russian championships on 25 December.
That delay led to questions about the WADA-accredited laboratory in Sweden. WADA officials pointed to Covid-related delays and accused RUSADA of not marking it as a priority, although Russian officials dismissed that argument.
WADA, along with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Skating Union (ISU), had sought to ban Valieva from competing in the individual event in Beijing, but lost their case at an emergency CAS hearing in the Chinese capital.
The CAS ruling cited Valieva’s status as a “protected person” due to her age and said there were “serious concerns” regarding the “untimely notification” of the doping test result.
Russian officials and members of Valieva’s team have denied wrongdoing, pointing out that she often failed other doping tests.
It was argued at her CAS hearing that trimetazidine may have entered her system via contamination from heart medication her grandfather was taking.
Others, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, have questioned how the subject would even benefit anyone in a sport like figure skating, arguing that her “perfection cannot be dishonestly achieved by any additional means [or] manipulation.”
Valieva, now 16, remains the world record score holder for her short and free skate routines, as well as her total score.
Like her compatriots, Valieva will miss international events in the 2022/23 season due to the ban imposed by the ISU on Russian and Belarusian skaters due to the conflict in Ukraine.
(RT.com)
Source: sn.dk