Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva given four-year doping ban : NPR

Almost two years later the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijingan international sports court in Switzerland issued a final ruling on Monday that Russian figure skating phenom Kamila Valieva “committed an anti-doping rule violation.”

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that Valieva will be suspended from international competition until December 2025.

“Trimetazidine was found to be present in the sample collected from Ms. Valieva on December 25, 2021 during the Russian National Championships in Saint Petersburg,” the CAS said in a statement.

The result also “disqualifies” all competitions in which Valieva medaled starting in December 2021, including the 2022 Winter Games.

The measure paves the way for the latest medals from the Winter Games finally be awarded, but leaves a black eye in one of the most popular competitions of the event.

“Russia has taken over every Olympic Games since 2014,” said Travis Tygart, head of the US Anti-Doping Agency, a critic of Russia’s well-documented sports doping system.

“I think you have to have a lot of sympathy. This is a 15-year-old girl who was part of this [Russian doping] program. Who do you blame?”

The World Anti-Doping Agency also issued a strong statement calling for full accountability of sports officials, doctors and coaches in Russia.

“Child doping is unforgivable”, the organization he said in a statement. “WADA encourages governments to consider passing laws – as some have already done – making underage doping a criminal offence.”

With Valieva now sidelined and his impressive performances disqualified, the International Skating Union is now expected to determine who should receive which medals from the Beijing team skating competition. he said he would issue a statement on Tuesday.

For Team USA, coveted gold medal now within reach

Russia took first place in the team competition, followed by the United States and Japan. Canada finished fourth. The move should clear the way for the United States to receive the gold medal.

Madison Hubbell, a member of the U.S. figure skating team in Beijing, said the ruling was a victory for her, her teammates and her sport.

“You possibly become an Olympic gold medalist and that’s a great title,” Hubbell told NPR on Monday. “But our entire team was eager to see justice done.”

Hubbell, who is now a skating coach and is expecting her first child this year, said the delay in her team’s recognition is bittersweet.

“I can celebrate with my daughter and that will be something unique. It will be special and the whole team will be together again.”

American officials expressed confidence that the American athletes will finally be recognized for their apparent victory.

“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,” Sarah Hirshland, director of the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, said in a statement to NPR.

Hirshland acknowledged the list of American figure skaters caught up in the Valieva controversy, including Evan Bates, Karen Chen, Nathan Chen, Madison Chock, Zachary Donohue, Brandon Frazier, Madison Hubbell, Alexa Knierim and Vincent Zhou.

“His outstanding performances in Beijing will forever symbolize his commitment to fair competition,” he said.

Russia remains at the center of global sports controversy

Tygart also described this decision as a victory for clean sport and said he hoped it would lead to more aggressive enforcement of doping rules to curb Russian wrongdoing.

“Today they don’t follow the rules. The system has failed athletes, including Valieva, by continuing to allow [Russia] to hijack the most important events in the world.

The case centered on Valievaa star of Russian figure skating, who was allowed compete in beijing even after it was revealed she had tested positive before the Games using a banned performance-enhancing drug.

Dozens of other athletes around the world were affected by the collateral damage of the scandal. While the case was being examined, the International Olympic Committee decided not award medals for the team figure skating competition.

“We were dressed in our ceremony gear, in a room waiting to take a bus to the venue and they told us, this is cancelled.” Zach Donohue recalled.member of the US figure skating team, in an interview with NPR last year.

As the slow bureaucratic process crept along with long delays between hearings, athletes from Canada, Japan, Russia and the United States waited to find out if the Russian team would ultimately be disqualified.

There has been speculation that an awards ceremony for figure skaters could be held at the Paris Summer Games later this year.

The Valieva affair put focus on Russian sports controversies.

This case brought renewed attention to the long history of doping which, according to experts, has corrupted sports programs in Russia, distorting results in international competitions and putting young competitors at risk.

This CAS ruling also came just days after the same sports court heard Russia’s appeal of a decision by the International Olympic Committee that prevented Russian athletes from competing on behalf of their country at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris.

It is expected that Russians will be allowed to compete, but only as neutral athletes, without flying the national flag, playing their country’s anthem or wearing official Russian sports uniforms.

The IOC issued the restrictions after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, days after the Beijing Games ended, when Russian officials moved to forcibly absorb sports teams located in occupied territories, including Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia. .

“The Russian Olympic Committee no longer has the right to function as a national Olympic committee, as defined in the Olympic charter, and cannot receive any funding from the Olympic movement,” it said. the IOC said in its October 2023 ruling.

It is unclear when the CAS will issue a final ruling on that dispute.