ROC to Appeal ISU Decision to Strip Russian Team of Olympic Gold Over Valieva's Case

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) said on Tuesday it would appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against the decision of the International Skating Union (ISU) to strip the Russian team of gold at the 2022 Olympic Games in the team figure skating competition.

Earlier in the day, the ISU confirmed that the Russian figure skating team had dropped to third place in the team figure skating tournament at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing after deducting the result of Kamila Valieva, who was disqualified for violating anti-doping rules. The US team now ranks first, and the Japanese skaters second.

"The Russian Olympic Committee will definitely appeal to the CAS against the ISU decision to redistribute the final places in the team figure skating competition at the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing. Our lawyers have already begun preparing the necessary documents for filing an appeal," the ROC said in a statement.

The committee argues that in accordance with ISU rules, sanctions against an individual athlete cannot be grounds for reviewing the results of a team tournament, adding that there are precedents in CAS practice to support this position.

On December 25, 2021, then-15-year-old Valieva tested positive for doping during the national competitions. However, this information was not made public by the International Testing Agency until February 8, 2022, the day after the end of the team competition at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, which the Russian national team won with Valieva in its ranks. The awarding of gold medals to her team was suspended pending the doping inquiry. On Monday, the CAS found Valieva guilty of violating anti-doping rules and sanctioned her with a four-year period of ineligibility, commencing on December 25, 2021.