The International Olympic Committee and the International Skating Union will appeal the decision of RUSADA to lift the temporary suspension of Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva due to a positive doping test. The case will be reviewed by the CAS exit panel. The decision will be made before February 15, when the women's singles tournament starts.

What happened

A laboratory in Stockholm accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) detected a banned substance in a sample taken on December 25 at the victorious Russian Championship for Valiyeva. Trimetazidine was found in the analyzes. According to RBC Sport sources, in a small amount.

A temporary suspension was imposed on Valieva on February 8, 2022 - from that moment on, she had no right to participate in Russian and international competitions until the final decision on the case. For this reason, she missed training on February 9. On the same day, RUSADA lifted her temporary suspension. This decision of RUSADA will be challenged by the IOC with the ISU.

The former head of RUSADA assessed Valieva’s chances of avoiding a suspension from the Olympics Olympics 2022 Trimetazidine is a banned substance that has been included in the class of stimulants S6b since 2015 (stimulants related to special substances) and moved to the newly created subclass S4.5c, as for pharmacological effects can be qualified as a modulator of cardiometabolism. It is on a par with the sensational meldonium, which was banned six years ago. In particular, it is used to prevent angina pectoris in coronary heart disease. “It's like meldonium. It protects the heart and brain during intense exercise,” explained sports doctor Nikita Karlitsky.

As noted by The Guardian, the detected substance is not able to affect the results of the athlete. WADA reports that trimetazidine is a clinically effective antianginal and anti-ischemic metabolic agent used to treat chest pain and may improve physical performance in athletes. At the same time, WADA does not rule out that the banned substance may be detected due to taking the drug for migraine. In this case, WADA urges laboratories not to rush to conclusions.

In 2018, trimetazidine was found in a sample of Russian bobsledder Nadezhda Sergeeva at the Pyeongchang Olympics. The athlete was disqualified and her results annulled. However, Sergeeva's sample, unlike the case with Valieva, was taken at the Olympics, and not before the Games.

According to the Russian Olympic Committee, Valieva repeatedly passed doping tests before and after December 25, including at the Beijing Olympics during the team tournament. All tests gave a negative result.

The results of the test that caused a scandal became known only 1.5 months later - already at the Beijing Olympics after the team tournament, which ended on February 7 with the victory of the Russian team.

“The ROC has questions about the timing of the release of Valieva’s doping test,” said ROC President Stanislav Pozdnyakov. - I have serious questions about the time between December 25, when the sample was taken in St. Petersburg, and February 8, when it was made public. In accordance with international standards for the WADA laboratory, the time limit for loading an A sample is 20 days from the moment the sample is received by the laboratory.”

“It is strange that the sample traveled from St. Petersburg for almost a month,” he added. “It looks like someone held this sample until the end of the team figure skating tournament at the Olympics.”

The head of the ROC admitted that Valieva’s doping test was “withheld” until the Olympics Olympiad 2022 However, Anna Antseliovich, head of the sports practice of the CleverConsult legal group, does not see anything out of the ordinary in the long timeframes of disclosure. “The sample was taken on Catholic Christmas. She was taken to Stockholm, where the New Year holidays were. They brought her, most likely, in early January. The lab has 20 days to analyze the sample and post the data to ADAMS. But there was also the coronavirus along with the holidays. Therefore, I fully admit that the result became known in early February. Yes, a little unusual, but nothing out of the ordinary. There were such situations, ”Anceliovich said to the Championship.

Sergey Lisin, who participated in the hearings of doping cases, noted that in his practice the Stockholm laboratory appeared only once. “Then, the analysis of the sample where the prohibited substance was found took 21 days from the moment the sample was taken until the result was received from the laboratory,” he wrote in his Telegram channel. - For Valieva, this period was 45 days. It is difficult to say what caused the delay for more than three more weeks, for this you need to know at least when the sample arrived at the laboratory.”The Kremlin called the situation with Valieva's doping test a misunderstanding Olympiad 2022

What will the CAS exit panel decide

The decision of the CAS exit panel in Valieva's case will only concern the issue of her further participation in the Olympics. Decisions on the possible disqualification of the athlete and the deprivation of Russia of the gold of the Games will be made later.

The term of punishment will be reported from the moment of passing the sample - February 25. And in the event of a disqualification, for example, for a period of 1 month (this is the minimum suspension period, but a reprimand without suspension is also possible), Valieva’s results at the Olympics will not be canceled, and Russia will keep the gold.

Tarasova called the situation with the doping test the 2022 Olympics a difficult test for Valieva

How the CAS exit panel works

During the Olympics and Paralympics, CAS opens its representative office in the city where the Games are held to promptly resolve disputes. Decisions on cases are made within 24 hours, in rare cases within a couple of days. The decision must be made before the start, in which the athlete must perform, it is final and cannot be challenged.

Swiss lawyers will represent figure skater Valieva in CAS Olympics 2022 The decisions of the CAS exit panel have become decisive for Russia since 2016, when Russians began to be massively denied admission to the Games. For example, at the last moment, the visiting panel allowed the athlete Daria Klishina, swimmer Yulia Efimova to the 2016 Olympics and denied admission to the Russian national athletics team led by Elena Isinbayeva. Also, the exit panel rejected the appeal of more than 40 athletes against the decision to remove them from the 2018 Olympics.

The composition of the exit panel is divided into two groups. One of the groups deals only with doping cases. It is led by the Swiss Ivo Euseibo, his assistant is the American David Rivkin. Arbitrators include John Boltby, Trisha Kavanagh (both from Australia), Swiss Rafael Favre Schneider, Austrian Martina Schreitzer-Kropiunik.

None of the representatives of arbitration in doping cases had previously considered high-profile cases against Russians, unlike representatives of another group. American Jeffrey Benz was one of three arbitrators in an appeal against the decision to remove Russian athletes from the 2016 Olympics. Arbitrations with the participation of Australian Annabelle Bennet made decisions not to allow Russian weightlifters and Paralympians to the 2016 Games.

Who will defend Valieva

The interests of the Russian figure skater in the CAS will be protected by the Swiss law firm Schellenberg Wittmer Ltd, Match TV reports. Previously, this company represented the interests of RUSADA in a case against WADA, as well as the ROC in an appeal against the decision of the IOC to ban a number of Russian athletes from participating in the Olympics for life.

The Ministry of Sports urged to show respect for Valieva amid the doping scandal Olympics 2022 In 2018, CAS acquitted 28 Russian athletes disqualified by the IOC, the punishment of 11 more Russians was mitigated. In December 2020, CAS partially satisfied RUSADA's appeal against WADA's decision to sanction Russian sports - reduced the period from four to two years and abolished a number of points.

Back to news | “The chances of recovery are now 50/50,” the lawyer said in a conversation with RBC Sport. - We do not yet know the position that the athlete will present. The provisional suspension has been lifted for the contaminated product. Apparently, the athlete's lawyers said that her adverse result was caused by the use of a contaminated product. If she can prove it to CAS, then perhaps the protest will be rejected.”

“The chances are high,” she added. “After all, Valieva is a minor and, therefore, is not obliged to present the source of entry of a prohibited substance into the body.”

At the same time, the lawyer emphasized that "other factors will be taken into account, for example, the fact that all this happens at the main start of the four-year period - at the Olympics." “This will definitely be taken into account,” Anceliovich added.

In turn, RUSADA Director General Yuri Ganus stressed that CAS has repeatedly canceled the decisions of national agencies. “For RUSADA, these are difficult times. As far as I understand, the disciplinary anti-doping committee canceled the suspension. The situation is very difficult. CAS has already reversed the decisions of national anti-doping agencies. It all depends on the seriousness of the reasons on the basis of which the suspension was lifted. A very difficult case,” Ganus said.

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