Russian Kamila Valieva, 15, has been cleared to compete in figure skating at the Winter Olympics in Beijing. She had tested positive in a drug test carried out in December last year. But the IOC (International Olympic Committee) warned that if she wins, the medal ceremony will be suspended.
Kamila is one of the favorites of the race. She has already won a gold in the current edition of the Games, but for teams.
The release for the teenager to participate was taken after a six-hour hearing by the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport). The entity decided that the athlete should not be suspended preventively until the case is judged.
One of the reasons for the CAS position was the skater’s age. At 15, she is subject to different rules than an adult. Under the rules used by anti-doping agencies, athletes under the age of 16 are not responsible for taking prohibited substances. With that, the biggest focus in the investigations will be on their trainers and doctors.
The substance found in his test, carried out on December 25, was trimetazidine, a drug used to treat cardiovascular disease. The results of the samples, sent to a Swedish laboratory, were released only last week.
By the time this happened, she had already won team gold at the 2022 Beijing Games.
Wada (World Anti-Doping Agency) signaled that the reason for the delay was that Russian authorities failed to warn that this was a high-priority review. Rusada (Russian Anti-Doping Agency) suspended Kamila, but the next day canceled the decision. She came to be supported by government officials in her country.
“CAS considered that preventing her from competing in the Olympics would cause irreparable harm to the athlete,” announced CAS director Matthieu Reeb.
Released, she will compete this Tuesday (15). The women’s skating final is scheduled for Thursday (17).
“It would not be appropriate to have a medal ceremony under the circumstances,” the IOC announced.
Brazil is ahead only of Jamaica
In the bobslead competition, the Brazilian duo composed of Edson Bindilatti and Edson Martins finished the first day of competitions in 29th place. The team was ahead only of Jamaica.
Bobslead is the sport in which the descent on an ice rink is done on a sled.
The race starts again this Tuesday and all 30 pairs will participate in the third descent. Only the top 20 will have the chance to make a fourth attempt.
Gold four years later
The duo Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron won the gold medal and set the world record in figure skating. The result was a rematch for the French after victory eluded them due to a clothing problem four years ago.
Papadakis and Cizeron lost points at the 2018 Winter Olympics because Gabriella’s costume fell out of line during the race and her breast was exposed without her realizing it. This left them with only silver.
In Beijing, the pair scored an unprecedented 226.98 and climbed to the top of the podium.
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