Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva cleared to compete at Olympics, but medals

Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva can continue to compete at the Beijing Winter Olympics despite testing positive for a banned substance before the Games, an international body ruled Monday.

However, Olympic officials say there will be no medal ceremony if she finishes in the top three. Nor will there be a ceremony for the team figure skating event, meaning athletes including U.S. figure skaters will leave the Olympics without their medals.

The decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), a global sports arbiter, allows Valieva, 15, to compete in this week’s individual event, in which she is favored to win gold. Officials did not rule on whether Valieva had committed a doping offense.

In a statement after the decision, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said that due to the “inconclusive situation,” no medal ceremonies involving Valieva would take place during the Beijing Games. That includes the ceremony for the team event, which Russian skaters won on Feb. 7, the day before Valieva was reported to have tested positive in December for trimetazidine, a heart medication that experts say could give athletes an edge.

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“It would not be appropriate,” the IOC said, adding that it will “organize dignified medal ceremonies once the case of Ms. Valieva has been concluded.”

After the test result was reported last week, Valieva was provisionally suspended by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, a decision reversed a day later after she challenged it. Several organizations appealed to CAS to reinstate the suspension, including the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the International Skating Union (ISU) and the International Testing Agency (ITA), which acted on behalf of the IOC.

CAS officials heard six hours of testimony in a video conference that began after 8:30 p.m. local time Sunday in Beijing, and continued their deliberations on Monday. In their decision against suspension, they cited special protections for minors such as Valieva, the delay in reporting the test result, and the risk of causing her “irreparable harm” by preventing her from competing.

The court noted that Valieva had not tested positive for banned substances while in Beijing and could still face disciplinary procedures over her earlier test result.

The decision not to award medals will affect the U.S. team who will leave Beijing unsure if they won silver or gold. That includes American figure skating star Nathan Chen, for whom it would be the second gold of the Games. If Valieva and Russia are disqualified, Japan would move up to silver and Canada bronze.

“We are devastated that they will leave Beijing without their medals in hand, but we appreciate the intention of the IOC to ensure that the right medals are awarded to the right individuals,” the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) said in a statement. “Rest assure, when that time comes, they will be awesomely celebrated.”

The decision also means the fourth-place finisher in the…