- Skater Kamila Valieva tested positive for a banned substance in December, it was confirmed Friday.
- The teenage Russian, however, currently remains free to compete at the Beijing
Winter Olympics .
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will decide whether 15-year-old Russian skater Kamila Valieva can still compete at the Beijing Winter Olympics after it was revealed that she tested for positive for a banned substance in December.
The International Testing Agency (ITA) confirmed reports on Friday that Valieva tested positive for the prohibited substance trimetazidine at the Russian national championships in Saint Petersburg last year.
Trimetazidine is used to treat the heart condition angina, but is on the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) banned list because it is classed as a cardiac metabolic modulator and there is evidence that it can improve physical efficiency.
The positive test was taken on Christmas Day 2021, and was analyzed and reported by a WADA-accredited laboratory in Sweden on February 8, the ITA said. This was one day after Valieva had led the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) to a gold medal in Beijing's figure skating team event competition.
Valieva was slapped with an immediate provisional suspension by Russia's anti-doping agency (RUSADA), however following a swift appeal, the ban was overturned by RUSADA on February 9, meaning Valieva is, as of now, still free to compete in Beijing.
However, that could soon change, with the International Olympic Committee having exercised its right to challenge that decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the ITA said.
RUSADA is set to share its reasons for lifting Valieva's suspension soon, however the IOC will not wait until then to launch its challenge due to the fact Valieva is set compete in the individual competition on February 15.
"The IOC will exercise its right to appeal and not to wait for the reasoned decision by RUSADA, because a decision is needed before the next competition the athlete is due to take part in," the testing agency said.
IOC spokesman Mark Adams said, according to BBC Sport, that he wanted a resolution "as quickly as possible." He added that the medals for Monday's team event will not be awarded until the outcome of the CAS hearing.
In response to the ITA's statement, the ROC released a statement on Friday claiming that Valieva had returned negative tests either side of the positive result in December, as well as while in Beijing.
It added that the teenager's positive in December test "does not refer to the period of the Olympic Games" and that she "has the right to train and compete" in Beijing.
"At present, the Athlete has the right to train and compete to the fullest extent without restrictions unless the Court of Arbitration for Sport rules otherwise regarding her status with respect to the Olympics," read the statement.
The statement added that the ROC is making efforts to "keep the Olympic gold medal" which the its team won in what it described as a "fair competition."
Russia was banned from competing in the Olympics, Paralympics or World Championships for four years in 2020 due to past doping violations, however the ban was later reduced to two years by CAS. The ban expires in December 2022.
Russian athletes competing at those events during the ban are only able to compete under the Russian Olympic Committee flag, rather than the flag of Russia.
Valieva competed for the ROC in the European Figure Skating Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, in January and won gold in the women's singles.