Tonight, the number of people entering the women's singles free skating increased from 24 to 25, and once Vallieva finally finished in the top three of the women's single skating, there will be no award ceremony.
For 15-year-old Vallieva, it could not have been better news to continue to compete in the women's singles competition at the Beijing Winter Olympics. However, the storm over illicit drugs is far from over.
So, why do drugs that have been detected as illegal still compete? And why can I participate but not be awarded once I get a medal?
I was able to participate in the contest for three reasons
Vallieva was temporarily suspended by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency on February 8 for testing samples from last year's Russian Championships that tested positive for illegal drugs.
A day later, Valieva appealed and the ban was lifted. Subsequently, the International Olympic Committee, the World Anti-Doping Agency, and the International Skating Federation all appealed to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport, asking the Russian Anti-Doping Agency to revoke the decision to suspend the game interim.
Finally, after nearly 7 hours of hearings, the Court of Arbitration for Sport announced that vallieva would not be temporarily banned, and the reasons they gave were three points.
First, Valieva is a protected person, that is, under the age of 16, and should be given a lighter punishment; second, Valieva did not test positive at the Beijing Winter Olympics, and the ban will cause irreparable harm to her; finally, Valieva's December 2021 drug test results were released too late to provide her with legal defense opportunities.
But still have to be investigated
Although she was allowed to continue to compete in the Beijing Winter Olympics, the investigation into Vallieva's positive drug test will not stop.
The World Anti-Doping Agency said in a related statement that the matter of Waliyeva taking banned drugs still needs to be investigated. In addition, as part of the case, they will continue to investigate Vallieva's entourage. The Court of Arbitration for Sport also stressed that there is currently no ruling on whether the Russian Olympic Committee team retains the gold medal in figure skating team competitions, meaning Thatieva and her teammates could still be stripped of the award.
The same question applies to the women's singles competition. As a result, tonight's women's singles skate short show competition, the number of qualifiers increased from 24 to 25, and once Vallieva finally entered the top three women's single skating, there will be no award ceremony. Everything will wait until the end of the drug test ban time, and there will be a final award ceremony.
Vallieva: I will give my all
Regardless of the final outcome, Valieva finally appeared on the ice of the first body tonight, and she expressed her happiness to continue to participate in the Winter Olympics, but also admitted that the event made her emotionally tired.
"The past week has been very difficult for me and there is nowhere to release emotions. After knowing the final verdict, I was left in tears of happiness. "I will do my best to show my strength." ”