The Court of Arbitration for Sport releases the verdict behind Kamila Valieva’s decision at the Beijing Games
BEIJING – The judges who allowed Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva to continue competing at the Beijing Olympics accused anti-doping officials of “failing to function effectively”.
The Sports Arbitration Court declared its verdict in the case that has dominated the Olympic headlines for more than a week in a 41-page document and refers to the “unsustainable delay” at the test laboratory in Sweden as a reason to let the 15-year-old Valieva skate in the women’s competition.
Valieva’s positive test for a heart medicine was first revealed during the Olympics, despite the fact that her urine sample arrived at the Stockholm Lab on 29 December. Lab staff were affected by the covid-19 pandemic.
The entire verdict was published early on Friday, hours after the 15-year-old Valieva’s accidental skate released her from the lead to finish fourth in the women’s individual competition at the Beijing Games.
Valieva was approved to skate by an urgent CAS decision on Monday after an appeal hearing that began Sunday night and ended around 3 a.m. on Monday. The World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Olympic Committee appealed against the decision of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency to lift Valieva’s initial suspension, which had been triggered by the positive test.
“In simple terms, athletes should not be exposed to the risk of serious injury caused by the failure of anti – doping authorities to operate effectively at a high level of performance and in a way designed to protect the integrity of the operation of the Games.” the verdict says.
Valieva’s lawyers suggested she tested positive “as a result of a domestic interaction with her grandfather using” Trimethazidine “after heart replacement surgery.”
The CAS document shows that they suggested that it could have happened “through the counter used by the athlete and the athlete’s grandfather (by drinking liquid from the same glass as well).”
Valieva’s status as a minor, or “protected person”, according to the world’s anti-doping code, gave her an advantage. The standard of proof for a protected person is lower than for an adult who makes the same claim to test positive due to a contaminated product.
Valieva tested negative in doping controls taken on October 30, January 13 at the European Championships in Estonia and February 7 in Beijing. That day, her skating helped Russia win the team competition. The positive test was revealed a day later.
WADA opposed the judges’ arguments on Friday, insisting that they had in practice repealed an aspect of the World Anti-Doping Code by saying that a temporary ban was optional rather than mandatory for a protected minor who tested positive for a banned substance.
“This is not what the code says, not what the code drafted, and was never suggested by any of WADA’s stakeholders during the three rounds of code consultation,” the Montreal-based agency said in a statement.
WADA reiterated that Russian anti-doping officials should share the blame for the delayed test result from Stockholm because they “did not flag the high-priority nature of the test despite being informed by the laboratory of delays caused by a covid-19 outbreak among its staff.”