The International Olympic Committee will appeal to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport

Beijing, February 11 (Xinhua) -- In response to the doping problem of The Russian talented girl Vallieva in the Figure Skating Team Competition of the Beijing Winter Olympics, the International Inspection Agency (ITA), commissioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which is responsible for doping during the Olympic Games, issued a statement on the 11th, saying that it will file a lawsuit with the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on behalf of the IOC's decision to allow Valieva to continue to participate in the Russian Anti-Doping Agency. The INTERNATIONAL SKATING Federation also issued a statement saying it would appeal to CAS to continue the temporary ban on Valieva.

The ITA began by stressing that athletes under the age of 16 are minors under the World Anti-Doping Regulations and are a "protected group" whose information may not be made public.

"It was seen that some media outlets did not protect her name (in accordance with the World Anti-Doping Regulations) and widely reported on the basis of unofficial information after the postponement of the award ceremony for the figure skating team event at the Beijing Winter Olympics. THE ITA believes that an official disclosure of this is necessary with the general public concern. ITA said in the statement.

The Beijing Winter Olympics figure skating competition decided the first gold medal in the project on the 7th, the Russian Olympic Committee team won the team championship, and the United States and Japan won the silver and bronze medals respectively. However, the award ceremony that was supposed to be held at the Awards Plaza in Beijing on the evening of the 8th was postponed for some reason.

Later, the media rumored that the award ceremony was postponed because of the doping problem of Vallieva, a 15-year-old russian figure skating genius. The IOC did not comment further on the rumor on the 9th and 10th, only stressing that it was a "legal issue" and was still under study.

On the 11th, the ITA's statement detailed the ins and outs of the incident. According to the ITA, the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) collected Vallieva test samples at the Russian Figure Skating Championships held in St. Petersburg, Russia, on December 25 last year, and sent them to the World Anti-Doping Agency's accredited laboratory in Stockholm, Sweden.

However, a month and a half later, on February 8 this year, the day after the end of the figure skating team competition at the Beijing Winter Olympics, the Stockholm laboratory in Sweden reported that rusada tested positive for Vallieva on December 25 last year, and the banned substance detected was trimetazide. The athlete was immediately suspended by RUSADA temporarily. Under the IOC's Anti-Doping Rules for the Beijing Winter Olympics, this means that Valieva will not be able to continue to compete in any of the events, including the Beijing Winter Olympics.

The ITA said that because the doping sample was collected by RUSADA before the Beijing Winter Olympics, the case was not under the jurisdiction of the IOC and was not directly managed by ITA. According to the relevant rules, the ITA immediately informed Vallieva that RUSADA's temporary ban decision meant that she could not continue to participate, train or participate in any other related activities at the Beijing Winter Olympics.

In the figure skating team competition of the Beijing Winter Olympics on the 7th, Vallieva successfully completed the inner ring four-week jump, which also means that she became the first women's singles player to complete the four-week jump at the Winter Olympic Games.

It said it did not publicly disclose the case after informing Vallieva about it in order to protect the underage athletes and provide them with the necessary physical and mental health care. But at the same time, all legal proceedings have been initiated.

ITA said that Valieva appealed to the RUSADA Disciplinary Committee on the 9th, and at the hearing held on the same day, the RUSADA Disciplinary Committee decided to cancel the temporary ban on Vallieva and allow her to continue to participate in the Beijing Winter Olympics.

It said RUSADA said it would announce the reason for Valieva's temporary ban later. However, according to the World Anti-Doping Regulations, the World Anti-Doping Agency, the International Skating Federation, the International Olympic Committee, etc. all have the right to appeal rusada's decision to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport.

"The IOC will exercise this right and will not wait for RUSADA to revoke the reasons for the ban, because on the occasion of the athlete's next competition (February 15 figure skating women's singles), a decision (whether to continue to compete) must be made."

As the IOC mandate to conduct doping tests for the Olympic Games, the ITA will appeal to CAS on behalf of the IOC. Vallieva had the right to request an analysis of her B sample.

ItA said that regarding the results of the Russian Olympic Committee team in the figure skating team competition of the Beijing Winter Olympics, the International Skating Federation can only decide if the case is finalized. The relevant procedures are still ongoing.

According to Russia Today, the Russian Olympic Committee said that Vallieva received negative multiple doping tests around December 25 last year, including during the Beijing Winter Olympics, and that they would take all possible measures to save the figure skating team gold medal. (End)