‘Common sense prevailed,’ says Russian skating boss after Valieva verdict
The decision taken by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Kamila Valieva has been warmly welcomed in Russia, with sporting figures praising the organization for its approach to the Winter Games’ biggest doping controversy.
Russian figure skating boss and ice-dancing legend Alexander Gorshkov said that justice had prevailed in the decision to allow the 15-year-old star to compete in the women’s individual event, which gets underway on Tuesday.
“The only thing that can I can say is that common sense and justice have prevailed. How much time will the whole process take? This is a legal issue, we don’t know yet. The main thing is that she has been cleared for competition,” Gorshkov said.
The Russian figure skating federation’s general director, Alexander Kogan, joined the chorus of Valieva’s supporters, pointing out that the teenager had been exposed to intense pressure over the past week, after the news emerged of her positive doping sample taken back in December.
“First of all, yes, indeed, the girl, who is one of the brightest phenomena in figure skating, has gone through quite a serious psychological test, and pressure,” Kogan said.
“She didn’t know what was going on until the last minute. We are pleased with this decision of CAS, grateful for a fair decision in which common sense prevailed.”
On Monday, a specially appointed CAS panel comprised of three independent judges cleared Valieva to compete in Beijing amid the doping row which erupted after she had already helped the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) clinch gold in the figure skating team event.
The panel rejected demands to reimpose a suspension on the teenage prodigy, citing Valieva’s status as a “protected person” under the WADA Code due to her age. It also cited the lengthy delay in the test result only being reported last week when the sample had collected at the Russian championships in December.
The CAS ruling said that Valieva had not tested positive in Beijing and that imposing a suspension on her at the Games would cause “irreparable harm in these circumstances.”
Valieva will take to the ice on Tuesday when the ladies present their short programs.
The International Olympic Committee (ROC) said it will not hold a ceremony if Valieva wins a medal, while an investigation over her failed test for the banned heart medicine trimetazidine continues.
