On Monday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport banned Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva for a period of four years following a positive doping test result.
The sample, which was taken on December 25th 2021 prior to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, found her to have the banned substance of trimetazidine in her system.
The ruling, which was handed down by the organisation in Switzerland, will see Valieva stripped of any medals she won since that date, including her 2022 Olympic gold medal in the team event.
The ban will be backdated to the original test date, meaning Valieva won’t be permitted to compete until Christmas Day 2025.
In its long-awaited ruling, the Court of Arbitration for Sport banned Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva for four years on doping charges, that retroactively took effect from 2021 and stripped her and the ROC of 2022 Beijing Games team event medal https://t.co/bjWrlWxxfY pic.twitter.com/6FHM8Wo9SS
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 31, 2024
The case has received much attention worldwide, especially considering Valieva was 15 at the time of the offence, and is now still just 17 years old.
Her team had claimed that the positive notification on the test could have been due to a mix up with her grandfather’s heart medication, although the CAS panel concluded that “Ms. Kamila Valieva was not able to establish, on the balance of probabilities and on the basis of the evidence before the Panel, that she had not committed the (violation) intentionally.”
They also reinforced that Valieva’s underage status, which put her in the class of a “protected person” didn’t qualify in terms of exempting her from disqualification.
“Kamila Valieva is found to have committed an anti-doping rule violation & sanctioned to a 4-year period of ineligibility commencing on 25 Dec 2021
“All competitive results … from 25 Dec 2021 are disqualified”
ISU & IOC will figure out the #Beijing2022 medals
Full ruling: pic.twitter.com/0qofgnRy06— Jackie Wong (@rockerskating) January 29, 2024
What will the ruling against Kamila Valieva mean?
Ultimately the outcome means Team USA have now been awarded the gold medal in the team figure skating event, two years on from the original competition.
This comes as the results of Valieva’s test were not handed in until February the 8th, the day after the team figure skating event at the Olympics, and following an appeal, she was allowed to continue in the overall competition. The athletes however were not to be awarded their medals until after the case had been resolved.
In response to the ruling an International Olympic Committee spokesperson acknowledged the delay in awarding the medals, pointing out that the ruling provides clarity.
“The athletes from the team figure skating competition at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 can finally get their medals, for which they have been waiting so long,” they said.
“We have great sympathy with the athletes who have had to wait for two years to get the final results of their competition.
“The IOC will contact the respective NOCs in order to organise a dignified Olympic medal ceremony.”
Russian figure scater's nine personal titles dating back to December 25, 2021, were declared void due to doping.
Kamila Valieva, the unquestioned star of Russia's figure skating team, has been retroactively disqualified from the 2022 Olympic Games after nearly two years of… pic.twitter.com/NMVKuWQp8P— War&Peace (@realpeacenotwar) January 30, 2024
The IOC also addressed that the athlete in this circumstance was a minor, and therefore raised the idea that perhaps the role of those surrounding the athletes in these competitions need to be examined in more detail.
“"This case, and its circumstances, are further proof of the need to address the part played by the athletes’ entourage in doping cases,” they said.
“This is even more important if the athletes are minors, who are even more reliant on their entourage,” they added.
The World Anti Doping Agency echoed similar thoughts, describing that “the doping of children is unforgivable.”
“Doctors, coaches or other support personnel who are found to have provided performance-enhancing substances to minors should face the full force of the World Anti-Doping Code,” they said.
"Indeed, WADA encourages governments to consider passing legislation – as some have done already – making the doping of minors a criminal offence."
BREAKING: The Russian Olympic Committee will appeal against a decision to strip the gold medal in the 2022 Olympic figure skating event following Kamila Valieva's doping suspension. pic.twitter.com/joi8IGuj3g
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) January 30, 2024
