Russian skater can compete, but medal ceremony won’t be held
Russian skater can compete, but medal ceremony won't be held. Full investigation pending.
BEIJING (AP) — Russian teenager Kamila Valieva has been cleared to compete in the women’s figure skating competition at the Winter Olympics despite failing a pre-Games drug test. The Court of Arbitration for Sport released its ruling less than 12 hours after a hastily arranged hearing that lasted into early Monday that the 15-year-old Valieva, the favorite for the women’s individual gold, does not need to be provisionally suspended ahead of a full investigation.
The IOC says it won’t award medals for Valieva’s events in Beijing because her December 25 doping case still hasn’t been fully resolved.
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The CEO of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee says the decision to clear Valieva to compete in Beijing despite failing a drug test appears to be “another chapter in the systematic and pervasive disregard for clean sport by Russia.”
CAS Director General Matthieu Reeb said preventing Valieva from competing “would cause her irreparable harm.”
The CEO of the Russian Figure Skating Federation says Valieva “faced a fairly serious psychological ordeal, pressure, a burden.” Valieva is the favorite for the women’s individual gold.