Ex-Olympic figure skaters Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir condemn decision to let Kamila Valieva compete: 'This is a slap in the face'
- Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir condemned the move to allow Kamila Valieva to compete in the Olympics.
- Valieva tested positive for the banned drug trimetazidine, which prompted an immediate suspension.
The former Olympic figure skaters Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir condemned the decision to allow the Russian Olympic Committee figure skater Kamila Valieva to continue competing in the Beijing Olympics after she tested positive for a banned drug.
"I strongly disagree with this decision," Lipinski told NBC's Mike Tirico. "Clean sport is the only thing that matters at an Olympic Games."
Weir told Tirico that he had to "condemn this decision with every ounce of my soul."
Valieva, the 15-year-old skater who made history as the first woman to land a quad jump at the Olympics, tested positive for the banned drug trimetazidine in a December test. The World Anti-Doping Agency categorizes the drug as a "hormone and metabolic modulator," according to The Associated Press.
When taken without proper cause, the drug can bolster endurance and improve circulation. Both effects could give a high-level figure skater a significant competitive advantage.
When the failed drug test came to light last week, Valieva was immediately suspended from the Games. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) reversed the decision Monday and said Valieva would be able compete in the singles figure-skating event Tuesday.
Lipinski and Weir criticized the decision by the CAS, saying it was a "slap in the face."
"What we love about an Olympic Games is that we get to marvel at humans pushing athletic limits and doing the impossible but with one caveat — to do it fairly and cleanly," Lipinski told Tirico.
Weir said that the Olympics "has to be clean."
"If you won't play fair, then you can't play," he said. "This is a slap in the face to the Olympic Games, to our sport, and to every athlete that's ever competed at the Olympics clean."