Russian anti-doping agency rules on Kamila Valieva case

Ross Gower Sports Writer

The Russian Anti-Doping Agency has ruled that Kamila Valieva was at ‘no fault’ and did not commit an offence for a doping scandal that rocked the figure skating world last year.

Valieva, who was 15 at the time, tested positive for a banned substance known as trimetazidine right after she had won a Gold with Russia in the Winter Olympic team event, and just before she was due to skate in the women’s singles.

The result came from a test she took in December 2021 during the Russian nationals that came back late due to the laboratory testing the sample being affected by Covid.

Despite receiving strong condemnation from the figure skating community, the Court of Arbitration for Sport allowed Vaileva to skate in the Winter Olympic singles event, arguing that barring her at such a young age would cause ‘irreparable harm.’ Vaileva placed fourth in the singles event, just missing out on a medal.

Since then, the Vaileva case has been investigated by various bodies to determine who was at fault and what sanctions should be implemented.

On the 13th of January, the Russian Anti-Doping Agency completed their investigation and announced that Vaileva was at ‘no fault.’ They declared that she did not commit a doping offence, and that the only sanction that will be taken is stripping her of the gold she won at the 2021 Russian Nationals where the test was taken. The gold now goes to Alexandra Trusova, the first of her senior career.

The World Anti-Doping Agency in response said it has ‘concerns’ about the decision. The WADA wished to impose a four-year ban on Valieva and argues that the RADA sanctions are far more lenient than what is usually imposed on athletes who commit doping offences.

Travis Tygart, head of the US AntiDoping Agency, was even stronger in his condemnation of the decision. In a statement Tygart said that the RADA decision was self-serving, and that the world cannot accept it.

To determine its next course of action, the WADA has requested a copy of the full reasoned decision. The organisation will review this to determine whether the ruling is in line with the World Anti-Doping Code. If it does not, the saga will likely continue, with the WADA saying that it will not hesitate to appeal the decision at the Court of Arbitration for sports.