CAS Allows Russian Figure Skater Valieva to Compete at Beijing Olympics

The 15-year-old ice skater, who previously became the first woman ever to successfully perform a quadruple jump at the Olympics, became the target of a media campaign after a banned drug was found in her December probe, taken during the Russian Figure Skating Championships.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Monday ruled that Russian figure skating star Kamila Valieva will be allowed to compete in figure skating events at the Beijing Olympics.

"The Ad Hoc Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has issued its decision in the arbitration procedures relating to the Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva (the Athlete): the applications filed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), and the International Skating Union (ISU) have been dismissed", CAS said in a statement.

The IOC, WADA, and the ISU had appealed RUSADA's decision to lift a provisional doping suspension of Valieva, after a trace of trimetazidine – a medication prohibited at the Olympics – was found in her probe on 25 December. At the same time, Valieva's tests taken immediately before the Olympics and after the Games had started, proved clean.

On Monday, CAS said that it made its decision due to Valieva being a minor and therefore a "protected person" under the World Anti-Doping Code.

"The CAS Panel also emphasized that there were serious issues of untimely notification of the results of the Athlete's anti-doping test that was performed in December 2021 which impinged upon the Athlete's ability to establish certain legal requirements for her benefit, while such late notification was not her fault, in the middle of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022", the ruling stated.

The results of the 25 December anti-doping test only came back on 7 February, after the skater had become a sensation, earning a gold medal for the Russian team with her outstanding performance on the ice.

Monday's ruling by CAS means that the skater is now able to take part in the individual event at the Beijing Olympics which will start on Tuesday, 15 February.

However, the decision only addresses whether she can keep skating before her case is resolved, and the fate of the medal she has won remains unclear.

CAS noted in its ruling that it did not consider the results of the figure skating team event at the Beijing Olympics in proceedings related to the case of Valieva and will examine them in other proceedings.

Kamila Valieva of the Russian Olympic Committee after winning gold during the flower ceremony. 7 February 2022.

© REUTERS / Aleksandra Szmigiel

Kamila Valieva is the current Russian and European champion in figure skating. She holds world records in both the short and free programmes. During the games in Beijing, she became the first woman in Olympic history to ever land a quadruple jump.