Three-time Olympic champion in figure skating, State Duma deputy Irina Rodnina spoke about the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to allow figure skater Kamila Valieva to further participate in the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.
The famous sportswoman rejoiced at this verdict, while noting that it is difficult to predict how this situation may affect Valieva in the future.
“We all now sigh a little. Because the competition starts tomorrow, this is a colossal test for Camila herself, not even considering what happened. It will not be easy for her and for all the girls. The CAS platform explained the decision by the fact that the result came late, and by the fact that it is under the protection of the regulation on 16-year-old athletes. But we must be perfectly aware - and the court clearly said this - that the door to appeal her team and individual results is open.
How will this situation affect her? I don’t know, because at such a young age I didn’t compete in Olympic competitions and I wasn’t in such a situation. There may be two points here. On the one hand, this is a colossal blow, and it may not affect right now, but have a delayed effect. On the other hand, we know that children cannot always clearly assess what is happening, in all the volume that an adult covers, ”said Rodnina.
The famous figure skater also called the popular position of emphasizing that Valieva is 15 years old wrong. According to Rodnina, an athlete participating in the Olympics is no longer a junior.
“Further: we have completely wrongly taken the position that she is 15 years old. Yes, it is protected until the age of 16. But any athlete who makes it to the Olympics is not a junior. That is why the Youth Olympic Games were created, and there are junior world championships in the main sports of the Olympic program.
We must understand that immediately after the Olympics there will be a revision of the age limit so that these 16 years concern only those athletes who take part in the Youth Games. ISU will raise the age, 100 percent,” concluded Rodnina.
Kamila Valieva, as part of the Russian national team, became the champion of the 2022 Games in the team championship, but the award ceremony was postponed due to the fact that traces of trimetazidine in a microdose were found in her doping test taken in December. Valieva was given a temporary suspension, which she challenged with the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), and the restrictions were lifted. The International Olympic Committee (IOC), the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Skating Union (ISU) filed an appeal with CAS, but it was rejected.
Earlier, the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee issued a statement regarding the CAS decision to allow Valieva.
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