CAS registered appeals in the case of figure skater Valieva

CAS registered the appeals of the International Skating Union (ISU) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) against the decision of DAK RUSADA in the case of Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva. This was reported in the press service of the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

They noted that they could not yet say for sure about the timing of the case.

It also became known earlier that RUSADA also filed an appeal against the decision of the DAK on the innocence of the athlete.

Note that DAK is an independent structure under RUSADA, which previously issued an acquittal against the figure skater. The organization concluded that during the investigation it was fully proved that the athlete was not at fault.

According to available data, WADA requires a complete review of the DAK verdict and impose the most severe punishment on Valieva – 4 years of disqualification and the annulment of all results from the moment a positive sample was taken.

The ISU justified the appeal only by the need to annul the results of the athlete.

In turn, RUSADA believes that the decision on Valieva’s innocence is not entirely convincing. The organization believes that there is a minimum fault of the athlete, so RUSADA asks to issue a warning to Valieva, but not disqualification.

This was stated to TASS by RUSADA CEO Veronika Loginova.

“Having studied the motives for the decision, RUSADA believes that the athlete’s side was unable to prove, at the level established by the rules, the complete absence of her guilt. could be a warning, she noted.

The scandal around Valieva broke out at the Olympic Games immediately after the team tournament, where our team won the gold medal.

On the day when the awards were supposed to be presented, it was reported that the figure skater’s old doping test had tested positive for a prohibited drug. It turned out that we are talking about the sample that was handed over to Valieva at the Russian Championship at the end of December 2021. The laboratory in Stockholm did not have time to process the figure skater’s analysis in time. Valieva at that time had already managed to perform at the European Championships, where no banned substances were found in her sample. Also, tests at the Olympics showed that the athlete is absolutely clean.

Initially, RUSADA introduced a temporary disqualification of the skater after receiving the test result. But DAK canceled this decision, allowing the athlete to participate in individual competitions at the Games. But WADA and the IOC filed an appeal with the CAS against the decision of the DAC. The exit panel of the Court of Arbitration for Sport nevertheless sided with the 15-year-old athlete and allowed her to compete in individual figure skating competitions.

At the same time, very powerful pressure from Western countries fell on Valieva. The journalists interrogated the athlete after each official training, because of which she often had to pull on her hood in the mixed zone. The reports, which often distorted information about the Valieva case, were published in the United States on a regular basis for almost a whole week.

As a result, Valieva could not cope with her nerves in the free program, making a number of serious mistakes. Leading after the short program, she was only fourth at the end of the tournament. The victory was won by Russian Anna Shcherbakova. Silver was won by another our compatriot – Alexandra Trusova.