Winter Olympics: Russian skater Kamila Valieva’s fate to be decided in urgent doping hearing
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By Michelle Ewing, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
BEIJING — An emergency doping hearing will decide Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva’s fate at the Beijing Olympics after officials learned that the 15-year-old gold medal favorite tested positive for a banned substance in December, the International Testing Agency announced Friday.
According to The Associated Press, the ITA confirmed reports that Valieva, who made history during the team competition Monday by becoming the first woman to land a quad jump at the Olympics, tested positive for trimetazidine ahead of the Russian national championships late last year. A Swedish lab didn’t flag the positive test until Tuesday, the day after Russia’s skaters won the team event with 74 points, beating second-place U.S. and third-place Japan, the AP reported. The medal ceremony has been postponed.
Trimetazidine, typically used to treat angina and vertigo, is prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency because the metabolic agent can improve blood flow and endurance, the AP previously reported.
Although Russia’s anti-doping agency, RUSADA, immediately issued a provisional suspension to prevent Valieva from competing in the Olympics, a RUSADA disciplinary panel overturned her ban Wednesday, according to the AP.
In a statement Friday, the ITA said the International Olympic Committee is appealing RUSADA’s move to lift the suspension in an urgent hearing before the Court of Arbitration for Sport “because a decision is needed before the next competition the athlete is due to take part in” – the women’s single skate on Tuesday.
A decision on whether the Russian team – which is competing as the Russian Olympic Committee without its anthem or flag due to previous doping scandals involving the country’s athletes – will be awarded the gold medal it won earlier this week “likely will take much longer,” according to the AP.
“The decision on the results of the ROC team in the Team Figure Skating event can be taken by the ISU only after a final decision on the full merits of the case has been taken,” the ITA said. “The procedure, which is initiated currently, can only address the provisional suspension.”
The ROC said in a statement that it “will take comprehensive measures to defend the rights and interests of the ROC team and to keep the honestly won Olympic gold medal,” the AP reported. Valieva also took a drug test while at the Olympics, which was clean, the statement said.
Photos: US figure skaters win Olympic silver in team competition Silver medalists Team United States pose during the Team Event flower ceremony on day three of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at Capital Indoor Stadium on February 7, 2022, in Beijing, China. (Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
Photos: US figure skaters win Olympic silver in team competition Silver medalists Team United States pose during the Team Event flower ceremony on day three of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at Capital Indoor Stadium on February 7, 2022, in Beijing, China. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
Photos: US figure skaters win Olympic silver in team competition Silver medalists Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier of Team United States pose during the Team Event flower ceremony on day three of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at Capital Indoor Stadium on February 7, 2022, in Beijing, China. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
Photos: US figure skaters win Olympic silver in team competition Gold medalists Team ROC pose during the Team Event flower ceremony on day three of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at Capital Indoor Stadium on February 7, 2022, in Beijing, China. (Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
Photos: US figure skaters win Olympic silver in team competition Bronze medalists Team Japan pose during the Team Event flower ceremony on day three of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at Capital Indoor Stadium on February 7, 2022, in Beijing, China. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
Photos: US figure skaters win Olympic silver in team competition Karen Chen of the USA performs during the ladies' free skating event of the team figure skating competition at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, at the Capital Indoor Stadium. (Sergei Bobylev\TASS via Getty Images)
Photos: US figure skaters win Olympic silver in team competition Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier of the USA perform during the pairs' free skating event of the team figure skating competition at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, at the Capital Indoor Stadium. (Valery Sharifulin\TASS via Getty Images)
Photos: US figure skaters win Olympic silver in team competition Ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the USA perform during the free dance event of the team figure skating competition at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, at the Capital Indoor Stadium. (Valery Sharifulin\TASS via Getty Images)
Photos: US figure skaters win Olympic silver in team competition Vincent Zhou of Team United States skates during the Team Event Men Single Skating Free Skating during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics at Capital Indoor Stadium on February 6, 2022, in Beijing, China. (Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)
Photos: US figure skaters win Olympic silver in team competition Bing Dwen Dwen mascots are seen during the Team Event flower ceremony on day three of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at Capital Indoor Stadium on February 7, 2022, in Beijing, China. (Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)