Russian skater Kamila Valieva will have doping case heard on Sunday at Olympics

February 12, 2022:

Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva’s fate will be decided on Monday.

Valieva will find out if she can skate in the Winter Olympics women’s competition the next day after the Court of Arbitration for Sport announced on Saturday that the expedited hearing on her doping case will be held Sunday night in Beijing. The ruling will follow on Monday afternoon.

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Kamila Valieva, of the Russian Olympic Committee, trains at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022, in Beijing.

Kamila Valieva, of the Russian Olympic Committee, trains at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022, in Beijing.
(AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Valieva, 15, is the favorite to win the gold medal was emotional following a practice session on Saturday. She tested positive for a banned heart medication called trimetazidine in Russia back in December. The star figure skater won a gold medal in the team event one week ago prior to the test result being known.

Valieva is scheduled to compete as an individual on Tuesday.

Earlier Saturday, the highest court in sports confirmed it has received appeals from both the International Olympic Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency challenging Valieva’s right to compete.

The Russian Anti-Doping Agency gave her an automatic ban after testing positive. A day later, RUSADA lifted the provisional ban. The IOC filed an urgent appeal, which the Court of Arbitration of Sport will hear Sunday.

Kamila Valieva of the Russian Olympic Committee during training. 

Kamila Valieva of the Russian Olympic Committee during training. 
(REUTERS/Toby Melville)

“It was sending a signal that we want this solved as quickly as it can be,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams.

The legal process is unusually complex because of Valieva’s status as a minor, which gives her protections in the anti-doping rule book.

Because Valieva is only 15, her ultimate penalty could be as little as a reprimand. Her entourage of coaches and doctors face more scrutiny because the World Anti-Doping Code mandates they are automatically put under investigation.

Valieva tested positive in a sample given on Dec. 25, when she won the Russian national championships.

That sample was the responsibility of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, known as RUSADA. It was sent to a WADA-approved laboratory in Stockholm, Sweden, for analysis.

On Monday — hours after Valieva’s skating helped the Russians win the Olympic team event — the Stockholm lab notified RUSADA the test was positive.

The CAS panel of three judges will consider only the request to re-impose the interim ban on Valieva.

Kamila Valieva of the Russian Olympic Committee during training. 

Kamila Valieva of the Russian Olympic Committee during training. 

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Whether the Russian team keeps the gold medal in the team event will be decided later.

The full investigation of the doping case is for RUSADA to handle and could take months. That could also be appealed to CAS.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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