Russia’s teen starlet Kamila Valieva has found herself immersed in a Winter Olympics doping row following the team figure skating competition.
The medals for the event, in which the Russian Olympic Committee team won gold on Monday, have yet to be awarded following what the International Olympic Committee described as “a legal case”.
Since then, Russian newspaper RBC reported that the delay was as a result of Valieva testing positive for trimetazidine, a drug which can be used for chest pain but is also a banned substance on the World Anti-Doping Agency list.
The ROC team have not commented on the case regarding the 15-year-old, who became the first female athlete in history to land a quad jump at a Winter Olympics during the team competition.
Valieva was back on the ice in practice today ahead of the individual competition where the European champion is expected to be one of the medal contenders.
But the IOC remained tightlipped on the case and the ongoing medal situation with the team competition.
A spokesperson said: “We had a situation arise at short notice that has legal implications and I’m not going to comment on a legal. We ask for and hope for the patience and understanding of all the athletes involved here. It is a legal case, I am unable to say. We understand the athletes involved want to see this come to a good outcome.”
There is an added complexity to the first big doping case of the Beijing Olympics. An athlete under WADA’s code is classed a minor if they are “a person who has not reached the age of 18 years”, and as a protected person it needs to be considered whether they are old enough to know what they are taking.
Any potential sanctions range from the ROC being stripped of his team figure skating gold medal and Valieva being banned to the teenager merely being given a reprimand and allowed to continue competing in China.
