BEIJING — Russian
teenage figure skater Kamila Valieva can compete again at the
Beijing Olympics
after sport's top court said on Monday that she should not be suspended for
failing a drugs test.
اضافة اعلان
In a case that has rocked
the Games, the
Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that the prodigious
15-year-old could take part in the women's singles event that begins on
Tuesday.
The young Russian will be favorite
to win but she has not been cleared of doping and could still face punishment
at a later date.
CAS said it had rejected
appeals by the
International Olympic Committee, the World Anti-Doping Agency
and the International Skating Union to have the suspension reinstated after it
was lifted by Russian anti-doping authorities.
The court cited
"exceptional circumstances", including Valieva's status as a
"protected person" — in other words, a minor.
Matthieu Reeb, CAS director-general,
said: "The panel considered that preventing the athlete to compete in the
Olympic Games would cause her irreparable harm in these circumstances."
CAS also emphasized that
"there were serious issues of untimely notification" of the result of
the test.
Valieva took the test on
December 25 but the result was only produced last week, after she had led
Russia to team gold.
"Such late notification
was not her fault, in the middle of the
Olympic Winter Games," the ruling
said.
The
Russian Olympic Committee hailed the decision, saying: "Tomorrow the whole country will
support her and all our wonderful female skaters in the individuals
competition."
The
US Olympic and Paralympic Committee though said it was "disappointed by the message this decision
sends".
"This appears to be
another chapter in the systemic and pervasive disregard for clean sport by
Russia," it said in a statement.
Six-week delay
Valieva tested positive for trimetazidine,
which is used to treat angina and vertigo but is banned because it can increase
blood flow efficiency and help endurance for athletes.
It took six weeks for the
result of the test to be processed by a WADA-accredited laboratory in
Stockholm.
The Russian anti-doping
agency (RUSADA) was notified of the positive result on February 8 and suspended
Valieva, but she successfully appealed and the suspension was lifted.
RUSADA has said it was
informed that the sharp rise in
COVID-19 cases at the start of the year was the
reason for the delay.
"We would not have this
case and I would not be here if these anti-doping test procedures would have
been completed in one week or 10 days," Reeb said.
The Stockholm laboratory
declined to comment.
The day before she received
the result, Valieva helped Russia win the figure skating team title in Beijing,
producing a dazzling performance as she became the first woman to land a
quadruple jump in Olympic competition.
As the legal arguments over
Valieva raged in the background last week, the award ceremony for the team
event was canceled.
Latest Russian
doping case
Before the CAS decision was
announced, the International Olympic Committee said Monday that the team event
medals would probably not be awarded during the Games.
"It's something that's
regrettable but we have to follow the process of CAS and the legal
process," IOC spokesman Mark Adams said.
"It's a dilemma we are
all in and it's something we're not happy with.
"All the other issues
will have to be discussed further into the Games and that will include the
presentation of the medals to the teams."
The US won the silver medal
in the team event and Japan took the bronze, with Canada fourth.
The case raises questions
about the welfare of the girl at the midst of the latest Russian doping scandal
at an Olympics.
The IOC has urged
WADA to
investigate Valieva's entourage, which includes highly successful coach Eteri
Tutberidze.
CAS's decision will be
intensely scrutinized because Russia is already under sanctions for a
massive state-sponsored doping program that reached its peak at the 2014 Sochi
Winter Olympics.
As a result, Russians are
competing in Beijing only under the flag of the Russian Olympic Committee
(ROC),
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