The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Skating Union (ISU) filed complaints with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the decision of the Disciplinary Commission of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) in the case of figure skater Kamila Valieva.
“WADA has carefully reviewed the full motivational part of the decision and the file in the case of figure skater Kamila Valieva. WADA considers the conclusion of the Disciplinary Committee of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency that the athlete was ‘not at fault or negligent’ incorrect under the terms of the World Anti-Doping Code and his right to file a complaint by seizing the Court of Arbitration for Sport”, says the statement of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
“The ISU studied the materials in the RUSADA case and decided to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The organization believes that all young athletes should be protected from doping. Such protection cannot be realized by exempting young athletes from sanctions”, says the statement of the ISU. “The International Skating Union requests the disqualification of Valieva for any period at the discretion of the CAS from December 25, 2021 and the annulment of all results achieved by her during that period, including the deprivation of any medals, points and awards. In addition, the Sports Arbitration court must determine the final results of the team figure skating competition at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games”, adds the statement.
The RUSADA Disciplinary Commission found that although Kamila Valieva committed an anti-doping rule violation, it was not her fault. No penalties were imposed on the skater, except for the annulment of her results from the Russian championships, in which she won a gold medal in late December 2021.
WADA notes that as part of the appeal, it will request the annulment of all of Kamila Valieva’s results from December 25, 2021, and the disqualification of the competitor for a period of four years. The case is currently in the CAS.
The 16-year-old Kamila Valieva tested positive for the banned substance “trimetazidine”. It was detected in her sample from December 25, 2021, but the test result was not announced until February during the Beijing 2022 Olympics. By then, she had already won gold in the team event.
Kamila Valieva was allowed to participate in the individual tournament in Beijing 2022, in which she took fourth place. The figure skater is the European champion in 2022 and holds world records for the highest scores in the short program, the free program, and the all-around.