The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) visiting panel upheld the removal of the temporary suspension from the figure skater Kamila Valieva and allowed her to compete further. This is stated in the decision published on February 14 on the official website of the court.
CAS took the side of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), dismissing the appeals of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Skating Union (ISU).
“Based on the very limited facts in this case, the court has decided that an athlete’s provisional suspension cannot be imposed,” the court said in a statement.
The decision notes:
Valieva is a “protected person” (under 16) under the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC);
The RUSADA and WADA Anti-Doping Rules are silent on provisional suspensions for "protected persons" while the rules contain specific provisions for different standards of evidence and lower sanctions for "protected persons";
The CAS considered the fundamental principles of fairness, proportionality, irreparable harm and the relative balance of interest between applicants and an athlete who tested negative for doping at the Olympics. The Commission considered that preventing Valieva from participating in the Games would cause her irreparable harm in these circumstances;
There were serious problems with the late notification of the results of Valieva's December 2021 test. This violated the athlete's right to legal support, although such late notification was not her fault;
The CAS ruled that permission to lift the temporary suspension was appropriate.
What happened
A World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accredited laboratory in Stockholm identified a banned substance in a sample taken on December 25 at Valieva's victorious Russian Championship. 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.
Ex-head of RUSADA assessed Valieva's chances to avoid suspension from the Olympics Olympics 2022 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 timing between December 25, when the sample was taken in St. Petersburg, and February 8 (RUSADA later reported that it received the results on February 7. - RBC), 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.”
The head of the ROC admitted that Valieva’s doping test was “held” until the Olympics 2022 Olympics But later on Friday, RUSADA reported that the delay was due to an outbreak of coronavirus in the laboratory. “According to the data sent by the laboratory to RUSADA, the reason for the delays in testing and reporting by the laboratory was another wave of coronavirus and an increase in the incidence among laboratory personnel, as well as quarantine rules,” RUSADA said in a statement.
The Kremlin called the situation with the doping test Valieva 2022 Olympics a misunderstanding RUSADA reaction
In light of the incident, RUSADA launched an investigation into the personnel of figure skater Kamila Valieva after her positive doping test.
“Due to the fact that the athlete is a minor, and in accordance with clause 1.3.1 of the CAO and article 20.5.12 of the Code, RAA RUSADA initiated an investigation into the athlete’s personnel. The purpose of this investigation is to identify all the circumstances of a possible anti-doping rule violation in the interests of a "protected person," the agency said in a statement.
Valieva’s staff can include not only the figure skater’s coaching staff, headed by Eteri Tutberidze, and doctors, but also the entire staff of the Khrustalny rink (skaters from the Tutberidze team train there) and the Russian national figure skating team who had contacts with the skater.
bbabo.Net