The Kamila Valieva soap opera continues. Almost a month to the day of their hearing before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), scheduled for September 26 to 29 in Lausanne, American skaters still deprived of their medals from the team event of the Beijing Winter Games wrote to the director general of the jurisdiction, Matthieu Reeb. According to the daily USA Today, they asked for the possibility of attending the hearing of the young Russian skater as observers. “ We demand the transparency we need and have been denied throughout this process, wrote the Americans in a letter sent Thursday August 24. The outcome of this hearing has a material effect on our lives and careers, and as an affected party, we request the opportunity to observe a small part of the proceedings that has remained hidden despite the international attention surrounding this business for a year and a half. » The hearing before the CAS must normally take place behind closed doors. It follows the appeal filed by WADA after the decision of the Russian anti-doping agency (RUSADA) to clear Kamiela Valieva, considering that she had not committed any fault or negligence despite her doping control in December 2021. Americans pursue : « We are not the only ones affected – the Japanese and Canadian teams have also been unfairly dragged into this turmoil, and we request that CAS consider granting one member of each team observer status. » At the 2022 Beijing Games, Russia won gold in the team figure skating event, ahead of the United States, Japan and Canada. But, more than 500 days after the competition, the medals have still not been awarded.
