On February 11, the International Inspection Agency (ITA) confirmed that a sample of figure skater Vallieva of the Russian Olympic Committee team tested positive on December 25, 2021.
After an appeal, the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) lifted the temporary ban on him, and Valieva was allowed to continue to participate in the Winter Olympics and participate in training normally. But then, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) filed separate applications with the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to request reinstatement of the provisional ban decision. The International Court of Arbitration for Sport said that it will confirm whether Vallieva can participate in the women's single skating competition on the 15th within 24 hours, and the results are expected to be made after 22:20 Beijing time today (12th).
On the 11th, Kremlin spokesman Peskov responded to the matter by saying that the positive doping test was a misunderstanding. "We absolutely support Camilla Vallieva". The Russian Olympic Committee also actively supported Vallieva and said that it would take all possible measures to save the team gold medal.
Otas news agency: The Kremlin calls the controversy over figure skaters at the 2022 Winter Olympics a "misunderstanding"
According to the Russian Satellite News Agency, the Kremlin responded: "We believe that this is completely some misunderstanding," Peskov told reporters at a press conference on the 11th. "Our sports officials have questions about the processing time of Vallieva's drug test samples. We are tracking these issues and concerns on behalf of our sports officials. ”
"We absolutely support Camilla Vallieva and call on everyone else to do the same," Peskov stressed, "and our message to Camilla is, don't block your face, you're Russian, keep going proudly and, most importantly, keep skating and beat everyone." ”
After the incident, the Russian Olympic Committee also actively supported Vallieva, saying that the results of the team competition should not be changed and that all possible measures would be taken to keep the gold medal. "Considering that a positive doping test result was not obtained during the Winter Olympics, Valieva's results at the Winter Olympics, as well as the results of the team competition, should not be automatically changed." The Russian Olympic Committee said it would take all possible measures to safeguard the rights and interests of members of the Russian Olympic team and "keep the olympic gold medals won honestly." The Russian Olympic Committee also said that a full investigation would be conducted and that "all important laws and actual circumstances related to the incident will be revealed."
Russian Olympic Committee's Camilla Vallieva competes in the women's singles short program of the Figure Skating Team Event at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing on February 6. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ma Ning
On February 11, the International Agency for Doping Testing (ITA) said that a drug test sample of Vallieva taken on December 25, 2021, tested positive for trimetazidine on February 8. Trimetazidine is a drug used to treat angina, but is banned by the World Anti-Doping Organization because it is a cardiac metabolism regulator that has been shown to improve physical performance.
After the results were released, the Russian anti-doping agency decided to temporarily suspend Vallieva, and after Vallieva appealed on the 9th, the temporary ban was revoked. At present, Valieva is allowed to continue to participate in the Winter Olympic Games, and still participates in normal training on the 12th.
However, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have contested the decision, which has now been submitted to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport for trial and will confirm within 24 hours whether Vallieva can continue to participate in the women's single skating competition on the 15th. Vallieva is a strong contender for the title of the project.
One of the current controversies is the announcement of the timing of Vallieva's positive drug test. Russian Olympic Committee President Stanislav Poteniakov questioned the timing of the announcement of Vallieva's positives. "Samples were taken away in St. Petersburg on December 25," he said. According to international standards, the processing time of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) laboratory is 20 days after receipt. Curiously, from St. Petersburg to Stockholm, the samples went almost a month. This is a serious question. Most likely, someone deliberately kept the sample until the end of the team game. ”
The Russian-Austrian Committee also said that Vallieva did several tests around December 25, all of which were negative. Around December 25, 2021, Vallieva was tested for doping several times, including a figure skating tournament in Beijing. All results were negative. ”
But rusada said: "The reason for the delay in laboratory analysis and reporting is that another wave of the new crown epidemic has led to an increase in the incidence of laboratory personnel, as well as epidemic prevention regulations." ”
On February 12, 2022, the figure skaters trained and prepared, and Vallieva participated in the training normally. Pictured from Visual China
In addition, why the test is positive is also an important question. Dmitry Sveshev, chairman of the Sports Committee of the Russian State Duma, told reporters that Valieva herself would not consciously use doping and would need to wait for the ruling of the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Sports lawyer Artyom Pattev also said that the dose of the illicit drug trimetazidine found by Vallieva was extremely small. This shows that she did not take it intentionally, but entered the body with other substances.
It is reported that the award ceremony of the 7th team competition has not yet been held, the reason is "legal issues", and the final ownership of the medal is not yet known, pending the ruling of the International Court of Arbitration for Sport. Judging from the results of the competition, Russia won the gold medal, the silver medal was the United States, Japan won the bronze medal, and Canada ranked fourth.
After the incident, the United States said that criminal sanctions would be imposed on relevant personnel. According to CNN, Travis Tigert, president of the Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), said that if it is detrimental to the interests of American athletes, it may be possible to use the Rochenkov Anti-Doping Act to bring criminal liability to the wrong party in the Case of Waliyeva.
Signed by former U.S. President Donald Trump, the Rodchenkov Act can be applied by U.S. courts to impose criminal sanctions on individuals who doping in competitions in which U.S. athletes participate, including up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for individuals, as well as $1 million for organizations.
In response, Leonit Slutsky, chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Russian State Duma, hit back that the United States began to hype the Valiev incident, and this kind of sports politicization cannot be allowed.
He stressed that the Winter Olympics, "the United States has been hyping up political scandals everywhere." The Rodchenkov Act is "another clear example of the use of extraterritorial laws by the United States," akin to threatening other countries not to engage with Russia. He stressed that such laws are a tool for manipulation and pressure and cannot allow the politicization of sport.
According to the World Anti-Doping Regulations, Valieva is only 15 years old, and according to the protection clause for underage players under the age of 16, Valieva will not be severely punished. However, according to the regulations, when a minor is involved in a violation of the doping rule, her entourage such as coach and team doctor must be investigated. At present, the Russian anti-doping agency has opened an investigation into the staff around Vallieva.
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