The leading star and hope of the Russian Olympic team, competing in Beijing under a neutral flag due to past doping violations, is now involved in a new doping scandal.
It all started when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) delayed awarding Russian figure skaters with gold medals in the team competition – first for a day, then indefinitely.
There were rumors that it was a coronavirus infection. However, reports soon surfaced of a “questionable” doping test by one of the winners. Everyone waited anxiously to see who would be affected. Many anticipated issues for a member of the male team. But as it turned out, the focus was on 15-year-old Kamila Valieva.
According to the International Testing Agency (ITA), a lab in Stockholm accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) found a prohibited substance in a sample taken on December 25 during the Russian Championship. The analyses revealed traces of the cardiac drug trimetazidine, which is on par with the notorious meldonium.
There were speculations that the skater would be suspended from the individual championship at the Olympics, and that Russia would be stripped of the gold medal in the team competition. However, IOC spokesman Mark Adams declined to comment on the “speculation,” expressing hope for “the understanding and patience of all the athletes involved in this situation.” Dmitry Peskov, the Press Secretary of the Russian President, stated that the doping scandal did not erupt at the Olympics, but among those who “started yelling right and left” without understanding what had happened.
Valieva’s case will be reviewed by a panel from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in the coming days. For now, the focus is on her further participation in the Olympics – decisions regarding the possible disqualification of the athlete and the fate of the gold medal in the team competition will be made later. Even if Kamila Valieva is permitted to compete in singles and performs well, her results at the Beijing Games could be annulled afterwards.
Alexander Tikhonov, a four-time Olympic champion in biathlon
– This is sheer carelessness, impunity, and lawlessness. Whose? Everyone. The State Duma, the Olympic Committee, the entire state… We lost everything after Sochi. They attacked us from all sides, and now they are talking about a political conspiracy again. They have shown us that over 1,000 cases in athletics, biathlon, and other sports have been suspended from all international federations. What more do they want? Now the fate of a 15-year-old girl is at stake, God forbid.
Dmitry Guberniev, a sportscaster
Let’s suppose it's arbitrary. Why was this not known to anyone? Who was supervising the girl before the Olympics? Why is it known now? She could have been replaced, we have a queue of skaters. Who exposed a 15-year-old girl to this substance? Questions to the federation, questions to everyone! WADA also has questions. Why the delay? This is not anti-doping! This is simply a rude attempt to oust Russia and Valieva from the Olympics.
Dmitry Svishchev, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sports
– Of course, all this hassle does not help the psychological balance during the largest and, perhaps, the main competitions in the life of an athlete. Therefore, now the coaches, our Olympic Committee need to analyze the situation and support our athletes, protect them from all kinds of attacks and create all the conditions for them to train and perform with dignity, without thinking about the difficulties that arise around.
