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In a stunning rebuke to Russia’s notorious doping system, the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Monday morning suspended Russian Olympic figure skater Kamila Valieva for four years and said her 2022 Olympic results were disqualified, ending a drama prolonged and unprecedented international sporting event that has continued for almost two years.
The CAS ruling means that the International Skating Union, the world governing body for figure skating, will now have to decide the results of the 2022 team figure skating competition based on the arbitration panel’s decision. If Valieva’s results are overturned and/or the Russian team is disqualified, the ISU will likely lead the United States to the gold medal, followed by Japan with the silver medal and fourth-placed Canada advancing to win the medal. made of bronze.
An ISU spokesperson told USA TODAY Sports in an email that the federation will issue a statement on the situation on Tuesday.
“It is now imperative that the ISU make the technical decision of his disqualification from the Games and redistribute the medals to the correct winners,” US Anti-Doping Agency Executive Director Travis Tygart told USA TODAY Sports immediately after after the CAS decision was announced.
Responding to the CAS decision, Tygart said: “It is the right outcome and let us hope that the clean athletes who competed in the Games can finally have some joy and satisfaction for their long wait for justice even though their moment was never replaced. At the same time, our hearts ache for another Russian athlete who the system failed, this is a 15-year-old girl. “The system has to fix itself.”
The decision comes 720 days after Valieva, then 15, led Russia to the gold medal in the Olympic team event in Beijing on Feb. 7, 2022. The United States finished second and Japan third.
But the next day, the event’s medal ceremony was canceled and the results were left in disarray after it was discovered that Valieva had tested positive for trimetazidine, a banned heart drug, six weeks earlier at the Russian championships.
The CAS ruled that Valieva’s four-year suspension begins on the date he took that test, December 25, 2021.
Once the ISU decides who wins the medals, no one knows how the skaters will actually receive their medals. One idea that has been floated is to honor medal winners with a ceremony at the Paris 2024 Olympics this summer.
There is certainly no manual for this. Never before has an Olympic medal ceremony been cancelled, so never before have athletes had to wait what will actually end up being more than two years to receive their medals.
After the Beijing Olympics ended, the only organization tasked with launching the Valieva investigation was the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, which itself was suspended between 2015 and 2018 for helping Russian athletes cheat. Not surprisingly, RUSADA faltered and delayed for most of the rest of 2022, delaying the process by months.
Valieva’s hearing before a three-member CAS panel was held in late September 2023 in Lausanne, Switzerland, but was further delayed when arbitrators ordered “the submission of additional documentation,” requiring another meeting in early November before the arbitrators’ deliberations began. .
The indignation of athletes from the United States and Japan has accompanied this controversy from the moment Valieva’s positive drug test forced the cancellation of the medal ceremony.
“Not only have justice been denied to athletes who have been waiting almost two years for their medals,” Tygart told USA TODAY Sports in November. “Justice has been defeated. Athletes will never be able to replace the moment they would have had on the Olympic medal podium.”
The World Anti-Doping Agency said in a statement that it “welcomes” the CAS decision, adding: “WADA took this appeal to CAS in the interest of justice for athletes and clean sport and we believe that it has been met. through this decision.”
The statement also addressed the lengthy process to reach Monday’s decision. “WADA understands the frustration of affected parties regarding the time it took to complete this case. Indeed, WADA shared those frustrations, which is why, at every stage of the process, including during the first instance proceedings in Russia , WADA pressed “It is difficult to achieve a timely resolution.”
In a statement from the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, CEO Sarah Hirshland praised the decision. “Today is a day we have been eagerly awaiting for two years, as it is a significant victory not only for Team USA athletes but also for athletes around the world who practice fair play and advocate for a clean sport.
“Team USA’s incredible athletes, including Evan Bates, Karen Chen, Nathan Chen, Madison Chock, Zachary Donohue, Brandon Frazier, Madison Hubbell, Alexa Knierim and Vincent Zhou, have demonstrated remarkable strength. Their outstanding performances in Beijing will forever symbolize their commitment to cleaning up the competition.
“We now look forward to the day when we can wholeheartedly celebrate these athletes, alongside their peers around the world. Their time is approaching, and when it comes, it will serve as a testament to the justice and recognition they truly deserve.”
