Olympics in a State of Shock After 15-Year-Old Skating Prodigy's Drug Test Results Go Public
Russian Olympic figure skater Kamila Valieva made the world sit up and take notice on Monday when she became the first female competitor to land a quadruple jump at the Olympics.
Since then, her achievement has come under a cloud after a drug test taken on Dec. 25 revealed the 15-year-old tested positive for banned heart drug Trimetazidine, according to Reuters.
Now, whether Valieva goes into the record books for her dazzle or drug test will be determined Sunday, when the Court of Arbitration for Sport convenes to hear impassioned arguments over whether she can compete in the individual competition on Tuesday, according to The Guardian.
But there is even more at stake. CAS could possibly rule on whether Russia’s female figure skaters, who won the gold Monday on the back of Valieva’s performance, will be disqualified, as noted by Yahoo Sports.
If that happens, the United States, which won the silver medal, would claim the gold.
There has been no clear reason given why the Dec. 25 test’s results were delayed until last week.
“It is very unclear why an athlete with a dubious doping test on Dec. 25 was admitted to the Olympic Games,” Valieva’s coach Eteri Tutberidze said, according to The Guardian. “Either this is a fatal coincidence, or this is a very competent plan. I really hope that our leaders will not abandon us, defend our rights and prove our innocence.”
When the failed test became public, the Russian Anti-Doping Agency first gave Valieva a provision suspension, but then lifted it. Along came the World Anti-Doping Agency, the International Olympic Committee and the International Skating Union to cry foul, leading to the Sunday night hearing.
Russia has a long history of flouting drug rules and competes as the Russian Olympic Committee because past infractions caused the IOC to ban the usual flag and anthem parts of medal ceremonies as a punishment.
IOC member Dick Pound said Russia needs to be taught a lesson.
“At a certain point if they are absolutely incorrigible, you end up with the position of taking a country timeout,” he said. “We could say, ‘we can help you. You’ve got a problem. We can concentrate on it. Take a time out for one or two or three Olympic Games until you get this under control.’”
Others said the skater is the real victim.
“This entire situation is heartbreaking … she is a minor. The adults around her have completely failed her. They’ve put her in this awful situation and should be punished,” said former U.S. figure skater Adam Rippon, who is at the Olympics as a coach, Reuters reported.
“Clean athletes deserve better, and this poor young woman deserves better,” head of the U.S. Anti Doping Agency Travis Tygart said, according to Reuters. “She’s getting chewed up (for doping) on top of being abused by the Russian state system.”
German figure skating great Katrina Witt said punishment should fall on the guilty.
“It is a shame, and the responsible adults should be banned from the sport forever!!!” she said. “What they knowingly did to her, if true, cannot be surpassed in inhumanity and makes my athlete’s heart cry infinitely.”
Witt said the skater should not be the focus of punishment, however.
“This scandal is a dramatic cut to her young and promising career, and I sincerely hope that enough people are by her side and protect her, so that she doesn’t break,” she said, according to The Guardian. “Kamila has learned her quadruple jumps with infinite diligence and courage. No doping would have helped her to land these!”
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