‘You're a Russian, Be Proud & Win!’ Kremlin Voices Support for Figure Skater Valieva

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Moscow completely supports Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Moscow is convinced that some kind of misunderstanding has occurred, the official said, adding that the World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Olympic Committee are dealing with the controversy surrounding the doping test that Valieva underwent in late December.

"We do not comment and do not want to comment on the situation, we are waiting for the completion of the proceedings. And we ... completely support our Kamila Valieva and call on everyone to support her and say to Kamila: Do not hide your face, you are a Russian woman, walk proudly everywhere and, most importantly, perform and defeat everyone," Peskov said.

According to a statement from the International Testing Agency, "a sample from the athlete was collected under the testing authority of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) on 25 December 2021 during the 2022 Russian Figure Skating Championships in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The WADA-accredited laboratory of Stockholm, Sweden, reported that the sample had returned an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) for the non-specified prohibited substance trimetazidine ... on 8 February 2022." Trimetazidine is a banned heart medication, the Agency added.

On 9 February, the RUSADA Disciplinary Anti-Doping Committee lifted the athlete’s provisional suspension, allowing her to continue her participation in the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Kamila Valieva is the current Russian and European champion in figure skating, holding world records in both the short and free programmes. During her performance as part of the Russian national team at the Beijing Olympics on Monday, the 15-year-old Valieva received 90.18 points, breaking the Olympic record. In the free programme, she performed a quadruple salchow, as well as a quadruple toe-loop with a combination with triple toe-loop, gaining 178.92 points and becoming the first female figure skater in history to land a quad jump at the Olympic Games.