Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva cleared to compete at Olympics despite doping cloud

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said in a statement on its website on Monday that it had upheld an earlier decision by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (Rusada) to lift a ban on Valieva.

The skating prodigy was on the Beijing ice half an hour after the CAS ruling, executing a flawless run-through of the short programme she will skate in Tuesday’s women’s singles.

“Let’s go, Kamila!” Russian ice dancer Nikita Katsalapov said at the adjacent Capital Indoor Stadium after winning a silver medal and learning about the decision.

CAS cited the fact that Valieva was a “protected person” under World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) rules as one of the “exceptional circumstances” underpinning its decision.

Preventing Valieva from competing at the Olympics would have caused the teenager irreparable harm, CAS said in its ruling.

The figure skater is one of the youngest athletes to face a doping charge during an Olympics, prompting global outrage at the role of the adults around her, and the continuing scourge of Russian doping in international sports.

“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 released after the decision.

Doping not addressed

The CAS ruling did not address the merits of Valieva’s drug case. That now sits in the hands of Wada, which has not given a timeline for adjudicating her case. Many fear it will not be resolved by the end of the Games.

Wada did not respond to Reuters emails.

“Only time will tell if she (Valieva) should be competing in these Games and whether or not all of her results will be disqualified,” US Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart said.

Earlier, IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said the awarding of medals for the team event cannot go ahead until the doping case is addressed.

It is not clear whether other members of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) team can receive gold medals. The second-placed US and Japan in third are also waiting in the wings. Canada finished fourth.

“That will probably not be sorted out during this Games and that is something regrettable, but we have to follow the process,” Adams said.

The women’s singles start with the short programme on Tuesday and conclude on Thursday with the free skating.

It was not clear if Valieva finished in the top three whether that medal ceremony would also go ahead by the end of the Games.

Kamila Valieva of Russia performs during the singles free skating event at the Winter Games in Beijing on 7 February 2022. (EPA-EFE/How Hwee Young)