Kamila Valieva’s doping: another political-sports storm that leaves Russia at the center of the darkest scene

Russian Olympic sport and power itself are once again at the center of the darkest scene. It happened with the scandal State doping brought forward by that country so that its athletes could be noticed as locals Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics. It happened with the suspension of Russian athletes in all international tournaments after the invasion Vladimir Putin to Ukraine, with bombings, destruction of sports infrastructures and above all deaths everywhere, including of Ukrainian athletes in defense of their homeland. And now the “cleanliness” of Russian sport is facing a serious blow: the four-year suspension of the young skater. Kamila Valievawhose positive doping result shook the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

He Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS) resolved that the sanction takes effect from 25 December 2021.

At the end of that year, when Valieva was just 15 years old, she tested positive trimetazidinea substance that improves blood circulation and more World Anti-Doping Agency (AMA) included it in its list of banned products in 2014.

This substance was detected in Valieva’s body in a very small quantity and the skater invoked the “contamination through the forks” shared with her grandfather, treated with trimetazidine after receiving an artificial heart, who took the young athlete to daily training.

The CAS found that Valieva was “unable to demonstrate” with sufficiently convincing evidence that he had not “intentionally” doped.

A political-sports storm immediately broke out. Because even if he International Olympic Committee always tries to separate politics from sport, countless historical and current examples demonstrate the opposite.

The CAS ruling means the Russians will be stripped of their Olympic team title in figure skating and will never receive their yet-to-be-awarded gold medals, in an unprecedented case. The US skaters have never received a silver medal and are about to be declared Olympic champions.

The IOC therefore decided not to hold the awards ceremony in the Beijing test, in which Valieva was present, a few hours before her positive test was revealed.

“War has been declared on Russian sport and, according to what we see, all means are good,” denounced the Russian Olympic Committee. “We do not agree. This is obviously a political decision,” the spokesperson said KremlinDimitri Peskov.

It was interpreted as a victory by the American Olympic and Paralympic Committee. “Today is a day we have been looking forward to for two years, because it is a significant victory not only for Team USA athletes but also for athletes from all over the world who practice fair play and support clean sport“said Sarah Hirshland, executive director of that entity.

WADA welcomed the four-year suspension imposed on Valieva. “Child doping is unforgivable. “Doctors, coaches or other support personnel found to have supplied performance-enhancing substances to minors must face the full force of the World Anti-Doping Code,” the entity explained in a statement recalling that it was it that did so. you accepted the appeal to the CAS “in the interests of justice for athletes and clean sport”.

The case step by step

At the 2022 Games, Valieva had already won Olympic team gold, and as the case was unsolved, she was able to continue competing and finished fourth in the individual final. At that point, the CAS had to make an initial decision on the case, after receiving appeals from the IOC, WADA and the International Skating Federation against RUSADA, which suspended the skater. The CAS allowed him to continue the competition, believing that preventing his participation would cause “irreparable harm” to a protected person under 16 years of age.

After the Games, RUSADA acquitted the athlete, and Putin himself received her in the Kremlin and told her: “With your work you brought sport to the level of true art. Such perfection cannot be achieved dishonestly with the help of additional substances. “We know very well that these additional substances are not necessary in figure skating.”

The case is not closed, as Valieva has 30 days to appeal the fine to a Swiss federal court. The International Figure Skating Union accepted the ruling and indicated it would rule on the consequences this Tuesday.

And the International Olympic Committee? He didn’t react this Monday, when he had the task of distributing the medals. And its executive committee will meet only in March.