Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva has been cleared to continue competing in the Beijing Winter Olympics following an appeal on the teen star’s interim ban after she failed a pre-Olympics doping test.
The IOC ruled there would be no imminent medal ceremony for any event in which Valieva medals, including the team event that she led the ROC to gold in last week.
“Only after due process has been followed can it be established whether Ms Valieva infringed the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC) and would have to be sanctioned,” the statement said.
“The IOC will, in consultation with the athletes and NOCs (National Olympic Committees) concerned, organise dignified medal ceremonies once the case of Ms Valieva has been concluded.”
The decision also paves the way for the teen skater and the ROC to claim another gold in her next scheduled Olympic event in less than 24 hours — the women’s individual competition — in which she is the heavy favorite, followed by her two Russian teammates.
Three judges with the Court of Arbitration for Sport heard testimony directly from the skater during her testimony regarding the doping scandal on Sunday.
Valieva tested positive for a banned heart medication, trimetazidine, which was flagged last Monday by a Swedish laboratory, six weeks after the sample was taken in St. Petersburg, Russia, in December.
Valieva had helped lead her team to the gold medal a day before news of the lab results broke.
Following the results, the Russian Anti-Doping Agency immediately imposed an interim ban against the skater, but later lifted it on appeal so she can compete in her main event — a decision that was challenged by the International Olympic Committee, the World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Skating Union, prompting Sunday’s hearing.
Valieva has yet to miss a scheduled practice since her positive drug test was revealed.
The ROC claimed that Valieva had “repeatedly passed doping tests” prior to the positive result on Dec. 25.
Ahead of her hearing, ROC coach Eteri Tutberidze told Russian state media, “We are absolutely sure that Kamila is innocent and clean.”
With Post wires
