Decision on Kamila Valieva's 2022 Olympic future expected on Monday
BEIJING — The Court of Arbitration for Sport will hear the Kamila Valieva doping case on Sunday night here in Beijing, and expects to decide on the Russian figure skating star’s continued participation in the 2022 Winter Olympics on Monday afternoon, some 24 hours before the women’s singles competition begins.
CAS said in a statement Saturday that it would hold an emergency hearing via videoconference at 8:30 p.m. Sunday (7:30 a.m. ET). It said it “anticipated that the decision will be notified to the parties in the afternoon of Monday.”
After hearing arguments, a panel of three arbitrators will decide whether Valieva, who tested positive for trimetazidine, a banned substance, will be eligible to perform a short program on Tuesday night, and compete for a second gold medal Thursday. The competition begins Tuesday at 6 p.m. local time (5 a.m. ET).
It’s unclear if CAS will also rule on whether Valieva and her Russian teammates must forfeit their gold medals from the team event. (The medals, originally scheduled to be awarded Tuesday, still have not been distributed. The U.S. won silver, and would claim gold if Russia is retroactively disqualified.)
The case pits two sporting bodies and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) against the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) after RUSADA chose to lift a provisional suspension stemming from Valieva’s positive test.
The sample in which the banned substance was detected was taken back on Dec. 25, but not reported until Feb. 8, one day after Valieva, 15, became the first woman to land a quad jump in Olympic competition. Valieva challenged the suspension, and a RUSADA committee overturned it on Wednesday. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and WADA then appealed to CAS on Friday, seeking to have the ban upheld.
On Saturday, the International Skating Union (ISU) also appealed. The three cases will be joined and heard together on Sunday. The arbitrators will be Fabio Iudica of Italy, Jeffrey Benz of the U.S., and Vesna Bergant Rakocevic of Slovenia.
It’s unclear why RUSADA initially overturned the suspension, or what arguments it will make on Sunday night. The International Testing Agency said Friday that a “reasoned decision, including the grounds for which the provisional suspension was lifted, will be issued shortly to all concerned parties.” As of Saturday night, no reasoning has been made public.
The Russian Olympic Committee, in an apparent defense of Valieva, said Friday that Valieva had "passed numerous doping tests" before and after the one that came back positive. But this was "classic diversion by the Russians,” U.S. anti-doping chief Travis Tygart told Yahoo Sports in an interview.
Complicating matters has been Valieva’s status as a minor, and therefore a “Protected Person” under the World Anti-Doping Code. Her age has impeded transparency over the past week, and could lead to lesser punishment when the CAS panel makes its decision on Monday.
While awaiting the hearing, Valieva has been practicing. After her latest training session Saturday, she walked through a rink-adjacent interview area without taking any questions.
