Kamila Valieva: Russian anti-doping agency allowed figure skater to compete in

Fifteen-year-old Valieva, a breakout star of the Games who helped the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) take home gold in Monday’s figure skating team event, was allowed to compete despite testing positive for the banned heart drug trimetazidine, which is commonly used to treat people with angina, the ITA said in a statement.

The case will be heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), with a decision needed before the figure skating star’s next event — the women’s singles short program — on Tuesday, in which she is favorite to take gold.

In that hearing, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will challenge a decision by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) to lift a provisional suspension on the skater, according to the ITA.

Responding to the controversy, the ROC said Valieva had “repeatedly passed doping tests” while already in Beijing and it is taking measures to keep Valieva’s “honestly won” gold.

“The doping test of an athlete who tested positive does not apply to the period of the Olympic Games. At the same time, the athlete repeatedly passed doping tests before and after December 25, 2021, including while already in Beijing during the figure skating tournament. All the results are negative,” the ROC statement said.

“The Russian Olympic Committee is taking comprehensive measures to protect the rights and interests of the members of the ROC Team, and to keep the honestly won Olympic gold medal.”

Why was Valieva allowed to compete?

The ITA, which leads the anti-doping program for the Beijing Winter Olympics, said Valieva’s drug sample was taken at the Russian Figure Skating Championships in Saint Petersburg on December 25.

However, it took until February 8 for a laboratory in Sweden to report it had detected a banned substance — one day after the ROC won gold at the team event in Beijing.

Hormone and metabolic modulators are a class of drugs banned by WADA due to evidence of athletes using them for performance enhancement, as they can increase blood flow and improve endurance.

Valieva was immediately given a provisional suspension by Russia’s anti-doping agency, which automatically prohibits athletes from participation in all sports.

The figure skater challenged the suspension on February 9 and, at a hearing that same day, the Russian anti-doping agency decided to lift the provisional ban — allowing her to continue competing at the Olympics, according to the ITA.

At 15, Valieva is a minor and therefore considered a “Protected Person” under the World…