The head of the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), Travis Tygart, said that Washington could involve the Russians involved in the doping case of figure skater Kamila Valieva, in accordance with the "Rodchenkov act", reports Reuters.
The anti-doping law, which allows U.S. authorities to prosecute foreign athletes or officials outside the U.S., should be enforced at the Beijing Winter Olympics if U.S. athletes are injured, the USADA chief said.
Tygart noted that the "Rodchenkov Act" was used to protect last year's Tokyo Olympics and will be used to protect other Olympics if athletes continue to dope.
“We live in twilight. Clean athletes deserve better, and this poor young girl [Valiyeva] deserves more. She is being destroyed (for doping) in addition to abuses by the Russian state system,” Tygart continued.
The "Rodchenkov Act" was approved by the US Senate in November 2020 and provides for the criminal prosecution of anti-doping rule violators around the world. So, they face up to ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine for individuals or $1 million for legal entities.
The law bears the name of the former director of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory, Grigory Rodchenkov, who was one of the main whistleblowers for WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) in the case of doping in Russian sports. In 2016, he stated that the country has a state program to support doping use. Russia has repeatedly denied Rodchenkov's allegations.
Valieva won the gold medal in the team figure skating tournament as part of the Russian national team at the Beijing Olympics. The competition took place on February 7th. The award ceremony was supposed to take place on the same day, but it has already been postponed several times.
On the morning of February 9, the Inside the Games portal reported that the reason for the delay in the award was a doping test of one of the Russian skaters. Later, he clarified that it was about Valieva. An additional problem, according to the portal, is the age of the offender. Valieva is not yet 16 years old, and therefore she cannot officially be accused of violating anti-doping rules. It is with this that the protracted proceedings are allegedly connected.
Swiss lawyers will represent the interests of figure skater Valieva in CAS Olympics 2022 On the morning of February 11, the International Testing Agency (ITA) reported that Valieva tested positive for trimetazidine on December 25 last year at the Russian Championship, which was held in St. Petersburg. The ITA report said that the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) automatically imposed a temporary suspension on the athlete on February 8, but the following day, the RUSADA disciplinary committee overturned this decision, which allowed her to continue competing at the Beijing Olympics.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said it will appeal RUSADA's decision to lift the temporary suspension of the Russian woman from participation in the Beijing Games.
Alexey Panich, managing partner of the Herbert Smith Freehills law firm, who for several years has been involved in defending the interests of Russian athletes in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), said in an interview with RBC that the coach of Russian figure skaters Eteri Tutberidze is unlikely to fall under the “Rodchenkov act”, even if it is proved that her ward Kamila Valieva used illegal drugs.
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