The medals continue to fall like snowflakes on an Alpine peak, at the Beijing Games, on the eighth day of the event. Germany, Norway and Austria take the largest number. Paradoxically, the conversations are however dominated in the Olympic bubble by a podium ceremony which should have already taken place, but still has not.
Three days after the scheduled date, the medals for the figure skating team event have not left their boxes. The competition ended last Monday. It was followed at the ice rink by a presentation of mascots to the three countries ranked first, the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), the United States and Japan. But the formal medal ceremony, scheduled for the next day, was postponed. The skaters were informed of this when they were going there. Since then, she has always been on standby.
In question, a “ legal procedure“, explains the IOC. It concerns the Russian Kamila Valieva. The young skater, 15 years old, tested positive last December.
What do we know about the case? Who are the parties involved? What sequel can it have? FrancsJeux takes stock of a case that has become the most debated of the Beijing Games for two days, far ahead of the Peng Shuai case.
The case. Wednesday February 9, several foreign media, including InsidetheGames, reported that the medal ceremony was postponed due to a doping case in the Russian team. It was then quickly revealed that it concerned an underage athlete. Kamila Valieva, 15, is the only minor in the Russian delegation.
The International Testing Agency (ITA), now in charge of doping tests on behalf of the IOC and international bodies, specified that the test was carried out on December 25 at the Russian Championships in Saint Petersburg. Its analysis was conducted by the Stockholm laboratory, as Russia no longer has authorization to manage its own anti-doping operations.
According to the Russian media RBC, Kamila Valieva tested positive for trimetazidine. Placed since 2014 on the list of banned products, this substance is used in particular to treat angina and dizziness. At this stage of the case, the question of its presence in a sample taken from a 15-year-old figure skater remains unanswered.
For a reason that is still unclear, the Stockholm laboratory only revealed the positive case of the young Russian on Tuesday February 8, the day after the team event of the Beijing Games. A few hours before the medal ceremony.
The skater. Kamila Valieva is not the first athlete to come along. Reigning Russian and European champion, she entered the Beijing Games as favorite for the gold medal in the individual event. Since the start of the season, she has broken the world record in the short and free programs. Despite her young age, she illustrates through her artistic qualities and her technical background what is currently best on the ice.
A detail that is anything but trivial: Kamila Valieva is a minor. As such, she is considered by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) as an athlete “ protected“. In the event of an anti-doping rule violation, the sanction could be more lenient. His name would not normally be made public.
Stakeholders. They are all very stingy with comments on an affair that is embarrassing for everyone. The IOC has been repeating for two days through its spokesperson, Mark Adams, that it is not in a position to comment on the subject, at least during the " legal procedure " in progress. The Olympic body also turns to the ITA, explaining that doping issues are now its responsibility.
Same lack of position from the International Skating Federation (ISU). Her very laconic press release explains that she cannot “ disclose any information about a possible anti-doping rule violation. This is in line with ISU and IOC anti-doping rules for Beijing 2022"
As for the Russian Skating Federation, it limits itself to repeating through the voice of its press officer that Kamila Valieva is not suspended. She could therefore participate in the team competition and continue her Games. She was seen at the training rink this Friday morning, in uniform and on the ice.
Read more. It was announced this Friday, February 11 that the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) would hold an emergency hearing in Beijing on the Valieva case. The jurisdiction was seized by the ITA on behalf of the IOC. But she could focus only on the current legal procedure, not on the doping aspect. The ITA clarified this in a long press release: RUSADA had imposed an immediate provisional ban on the young skater from participating in the Beijing Games, but it was contested by Kamila Valieva, then lifted by decision of the appeal commission of RUSADA.
Questions: Will Kamilia Valieva be disqualified from the team event, and with her the rest of the ROC roster? Will she be allowed to take part in the individual competition? The answers could come in the coming hours.
