According to the International Testing Agency, a sample from Valieva collected by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency in December 2021—well before the Beijing Games got underway—“returned an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) for the non-specified prohibited substance trimetazidine” on Feb. 8. Just one day before that news broke, Valieva made Olympic history by landing a quad jump while helping her ROC team skate its way to gold in the team figure skating event. “It’s such an incredible feeling that you’re skating in only your first senior season but already everyone is talking about you,” she said after that event. And while many are talking about the skating star, her routine isn’t necessarily the topic of discussion. So, who is Valieva and will she be allowed to continue competing at the 2022 Olympics? Here is everything you need to know about the Russiandoping scandal in Beijing…
Who is the Russian figure skater who tested positive for doping in 2022?
Valieva is a 15-year-old figure skater who has been described as a gold medal favorite at the Beijing Games. The 2022 European champion was born in Kazan, Russia, but moved to Moscow to pursue a career in figure skating, per Olympics.com. During her 2022 Olympics debut, Valieva completed not one, but two quad jumps in addition to a triple axel during the team event. “It’s been such a childhood dream of mine, from the age of 3, I told my mother that I want to be an Olympic champion,” she shared. “This dream came true. I will work to make another dream of mine come true soon [in the individual event].” The Russian Olympic Committee clarified in a statement released on Feb. 11 that Valieva’s sample “taken after the European Figure Skating Championships in January 2022” and her “sample taken during the Olympics, both resulted negative.”
What drug did Kamila Valieva test positive for?
The drug that Valieva tested positive for, Trimetazidine, is listed under hormone and metabolic modulators on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s prohibited list. According to the European Medicines Agency, Trimetazidine (which is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States) is used to prevent angina attacks, as well as treat the symptoms of vertigo and tinnitus. It also has an effect on metabolism. Dr. Kelly Johnson-Arbor, a medical toxicology physician at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, told Reuters, “If you’re in a highly exertional sport, where you’re using a lot of energy and you’re putting your heart under significant stress, it certainly could help your heart function better theoretically.”
Is Kamila Valieva going to be in the Olympics still?
Valieva was provisionally suspended by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), but the figure skater “challenged the imposition of the provisional suspension before the RUSADA Disciplinary Anti-Doping Committee” on Feb. 9. After a hearing, the committee decided to lift Valieva’s provisional suspension, per the ITA. On Feb. 14, the Ad Hoc Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) “declined to impose a provisional suspension” on Valieva, who is a “Protected Person” under the World Anti-Doping Code. The panel “considered that preventing [Valieva] from competing at the Olympic Games would cause her irreparable harm in these circumstances.” The panel also “emphasized that there were serious issues of untimely notification of the results of the Athlete’s anti-doping test that was performed in December 2021 which impinged upon the Athlete’s ability to establish certain legal requirements for her benefit, while such late notification was not her fault, in the middle of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.”
Will Russian skater Kamila Valieva still get her medals?
Although Valieva is allowed to continue participating in the 2022 Winter Games, the Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) released a statement saying there will be no medal ceremonies for the figure skater—neither for the team gold she won early on in the Games, nor the women’s singles gold she’s favored to win as well. “In the interest of fairness to all athletes and the NOCs concerned, it would not be appropriate to hold the medal ceremony for the figure skating team event during the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 as it would include an athlete who on the one hand has a positive A-sample, but whose violation of the anti-doping rules has not yet been established on the other hand,” the IOC EB said. If Valieva finishes in the top three of the women’s single skating competition, there will be no flower ceremony and no medal ceremony at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. In a statement, United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland said, “We are disappointed by the message this decision sends. It is the collective responsibility of the entire Olympic community to protect the integrity of sport and to hold our athletes, coaches and all involved to the highest of standards. Athletes have the right to know they are competing on a level playing field. Unfortunately, today that right is being denied. Hirshland added, “This appears to be another chapter in the systemic and pervasive disregard for clean sport by Russia. We know this case is not yet closed, and we call on everyone in the Olympic Movement to continue to fight for clean sport on behalf of athletes around the world.”
Why are there Russian athletes allowed to compete at the 2022 Winter Games?
Valieva is technically a member of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) delegation. While Russia is banned from major global sporting competitions (originally for four years, but that’s since been reduced to two years), including the Olympics, through December 2022, athletes are able to compete under the ROC banner. “For too long, Russian doping has detracted from clean sport. The blatant breach by the Russian authorities of RUSADA’s reinstatement conditions, approved by the ExCo in September 2018, demanded a robust response,” then-WADA President Sir Craig Reediesaid in 2019 when Russia was first banned. “That is exactly what has been delivered today. Russia was afforded every opportunity to get its house in order and re-join the global anti-doping community for the good of its athletes and of the integrity of sport, but it chose instead to continue in its stance of deception and denial. As a result, the WADA ExCo has responded in the strongest possible terms, while protecting the rights of Russian athletes that can prove that they were not involved and did not benefit from these fraudulent acts.” Next, How to Watch the Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony
