The news broke just before 14 p.m. in Beijing. At the worst time, during the ice dancing medalists' press conference. She prompted questions from the media to the three couples invited to the podium. They didn't deserve it.
Seized in the case of the Russian Kamila Valieva, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) delivered its verdict two days after hearing the parties concerned: the young skater, only 15 years old, is authorized to participate from Tuesday February 15 in the individual event.
According to a press release published at the beginning of the afternoon in Chinese time, the CAS commission considered that there was “ serious problems with late notification of athlete doping control results“. The announcement of the Russian skater's positive test came after the start of the Beijing Games on Monday February 7, six weeks after the sample was taken in Russia. The analysis was conducted by the Stockholm laboratory, as Russia is not authorized to carry out its anti-doping operations.
Still according to the official press release, the CAS ruled that the delay in announcing the positive result was detrimental to Kamila Valieva, preventing her from legally defending herself, even though the delay in question was not her fault.
The three judges of the specialized court explained that they had also taken into account “ fundamental principles of fairness, proportionality, irreparable harm and relative balance of interests between the applicants and the athlete“. They notably considered that preventing the athlete from participating in the Olympic Games “ would cause him irreparable harm in these circumstances. »
The matter is therefore settled. At least for now. The CAS ruled in favor of Kamila Valieva. The young athlete will be able to enter the ice on Tuesday, February 15, for the short program of the women's event. The court rejected the appeals filed by the IOC, WADA and the ISU. The three parties demanded the reinstatement of the provisional suspension of the skater, initially imposed by RUSADA, then lifted by its ethics commission.
Initially, the Kamila Valieva affair will not go any further. The young Russian can compete. She incurs no sanction, not even a reprimand. As for the podium in the team event, won by the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) team ahead of the United States and Japan, it also remains as it is. But it is not yet certain that his medals will be distributed before the end of the Beijing Games.
What happens next, on the other hand, looks more uncertain. The legal battle surrounding the young skater could take weeks or even months. The United States had made it known even before the CAS decision, through Travis Tygart, the director of the American anti-doping agency (USADA), that they could continue the fight. Under a law named after Rodchenkov, the Russian whistleblower behind Russia's doping scandal, they can prosecute anyone accused of doping, including a foreigner and outside the United States, if a US citizen is involved in the case.
As soon as the CAS decision was announced, the American Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) reacted with a tweet from its general director, Sarah Hirshland. The instance says “ disappointed by the message this decision sends“. Then she explains that “ the fight is not over.” The USOPC calls on the Olympic movement to continue fighting for clean and ethical sport.
Kamila Valieva has not stopped training in Beijing since the start of the affair. She should have entered the individual competition with the status of favorite. But at only 15 years old, it is not certain that she will still be able to remain solid and straight on her skates.
