The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will not ask Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva, who is being investigated for violating anti-doping rules, for permission to publish the verdict in her case.
“The information that the CAS is dealing with this case is not confidential. The final decision will be made public”, said the spokeswoman of CAS when asked if the court could publish a decision on the Russian figure skater case only if she, as a protected person, consented to it. “Under the Sports Arbitration Code, the CAS may publish the full award and reasons. However, if either party considers that information contained in the award should remain confidential, it may request that such information be deleted to the extent that which will not affect the meaning or understanding of the decision”, adds the spokeswoman of CAS.
Kamila Valieva has the status of a protected person, as she was not yet 16 years old at the time of taking the sample in December 2021. This status implies special protection of personal data. Pursuant to Article 14.3.7 of the World Anti-Doping Code, the mandatory public disclosure provision does not apply in cases where the Athlete or other Person who is the subject of an anti-doping rule violation is a minor.
The hearings on Kamila Valieva’s case at the CAS took place on September 26-28 and continued on November 9-10 due to the need to prepare additional documentation. On November 9, Kamila Valieva was re-interrogated by the CAS arbitrators. The court is expected to make a decision on the case by February 12, 2024.
A 17-year-old Russian figure skater is suspected of using the banned drug “trimetazidine”. It was found in a sample from December 25, 2021, the result of which was made public only in February 2022 during the Olympic Games in Beijing. By that time, the figure skater had already won a gold medal in the team competition.