Russian teenager Kamila Valieva was yesterday cleared to compete in the women’s figure skating competition at the Winter Olympics, despite failing a pre-Games drug test, setting her up for an attempt at a second gold medal in Beijing.
The International Olympic Committee said that it would not hold a ceremony for events in which Valieva medals “in the interest of fairness to all athletes.”
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) released its ruling less than 12 hours after a hastily arranged hearing that lasted into early yesterday.
It said 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 court gave her a favorable decision in part because she is a minor, known in Olympic jargon as a “protected person,” and is subject to different rules from an adult athlete.
“The panel considered that preventing the athlete to compete at the Olympic Games would cause her irreparable harm in the circumstances,” CAS director general Matthieu Reeb said.
Valieva and her fellow Russian skaters can aim for the first podium sweep of women’s figure skating in Olympic history. The event starts with the short program today and concludes on Thursday with the free skate.
Shortly after the decision, Valieva skated in her allotted practice time slot, watched by her coach, Eteri Tutberidze.
Reaction around the world ranged from support of the young skater to complaints that Russian doping had once again damaged a sporting event.
The CAS panel also cited fundamental issues of fairness in its ruling, the fact that she tested clean in Beijing and that there were “serious issues of untimely notification” of her positive test.
Valieva tested positive for the heart drug trimetazidine on Dec. 25 at the Russian nationals, but the result from a Swedish lab did not come to light until a week ago, after she helped Russia win the team gold.
Reasons for the six-week wait for a result from Sweden are unclear, although Russian officials have suggested it was partly because of a surge in COVID-19 cases last month, which affected staffing.
In a statement, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) suggested that the Russian Anti-Doping Agency slipped up by not signaling to the Stockholm lab that Valieva’s sample was a priority.
Valieva landed the first quadruple jumps by a woman at the Olympics when she won the team event gold on Monday last week. The US took silver, Japan bronze and Canada placed fourth.
That medal, and any medal she wins in the individual competition, could still be taken from her.
WADA still has the right to appeal any ruling by the Russian agency, and said it wants to independently investigate Valieva’s entourage.
“This appears to be another chapter in the systematic and pervasive disregard for clean sport by Russia,” US Olympic and Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland said in a statement.
Hirshland said the committee was “disappointed by the message this decision sends,” and suggested that athletes were denied the confidence of knowing they competed on a level playing field.
BOBSLED
AFP, YANQING, China
Canadian-born Kaillie Humphries yesterday said that her Olympic gold for her adopted US has a special place in her heart after storming to victory in the inaugural women’s monobob event to end Germany’s domination of the Winter Games ice track.
The 36-year-old was peerless at the Yanqing National Sliding Center, building on her commanding overnight lead to clock 4 minutes, 19.27 seconds over the four heats.
Her winning margin of 1.54 seconds over her US teammate Elana Meyers Taylor, who took silver, is a huge gulf in a sport normally decided by tenths of a second.
“This will always hold a special place in my heart, my first for the USA,” said Humphries, the first woman to win Olympic bobsled medals for two nations.
Humphries won Olympic golds for Canada in the two-woman bobsled at the Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014 Games, and a bronze four years ago in Pyeongchang.
SPEEDSKATING
Reuters, BEIJING
When American Erin Jackson on Sunday crossed the finish line of the women’s 500m race at the Beijing Olympics, she not only won gold, but became the first black woman to win a medal in speedskating.
“I think what she did tonight is going to be a springboard to give so many little girls and boys the opportunity to look up to someone that they haven’t been able to look at and relate to,” teammate Brittany Bowe said.
Jackson, who was explosive at the start line and followed through with a speedy lap around the National Speed Skating Oval, hopes her success will inspire others like her to take to the snow and ice.
“Hopefully we can see more minorities especially in the USA getting out and trying some of these winter sports, and I just hope to be a good example,” Jackson said.
In a sport typically dominated by Nordic countries and more recently by the Netherlands, she followed in the footsteps of fellow American Shani Davis — the first Black athlete to win speedskating gold — in adding a dab of diversity to the podium.
“It just sends the message that if you follow your heart and your passion, it can take you anywhere. You can do anything you want,” coach Ryan Shimabukuro said.
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