The figure skating sensation's immediate future at the Olympics is clear – but her anti-doping case seems far from resolved
Russian figure skating prodigy Kamila Valieva will be allowed to compete in the women’s singles at the Winter Olympics after a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Monday.
The ruling by the highest court in sport provides an answer over Valieva's immediate future at the Games while leaving many others open. What's next for Valieva? What about the team medal the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) won? Here's what we now know about the case.
What did CAS say in Monday’s verdict on Kamila Valieva?
The International Olympic Committee (IOC), World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and International Skating Union (ISU) had appealed to CAS to overturn the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) decision to allow Valieva to skate on after the 15-year-old tested positive for heart drug trimetazidine, which is on WADA's banned list.
Following a hearing that started on Sunday evening and lasted almost six hours, a CAS panel ruled that Valieva, who testified, should not be provisionally suspended, citing exceptional circumstances including her status as a 'protected person' under the World Anti-Doping Code because she is a minor.
It also pointed out that Valieva had not tested positive at the Beijing Games and said that suspending her from the competition would cause “irreparable harm in these circumstances.”
The test result, which came from a laboratory in Stockholm accredited by WADA, had taken more than six weeks to arrive, materializing after Valieva had helped the ROC win team gold at the Games. CAS said there had been “serious issues” with that “untimely notification” , impinging on Valieva's ability to mount a legal defense.
What does the decision mean for Valieva?
The reigning European and Russian champion will be hugely relieved at the immediate prospect of being able to compete when the women's short program starts at the Capital Indoor Stadium on Tuesday. The free skate follows on Thursday.
Valieva emphatically demonstrated why she is favorite to win the events by dazzling in the short skate section of the team event before becoming the first female Olympian to land a quad jump in the free skate.
The CAS announcement noted that it had only been asked to adjudicate on the 'narrow issue' of whether a provisional suspension should be imposed on Valieva.
That means the anti-doping process, which the International Testing Agency (ITA) has said is ongoing, will not be settled until after the Games, when Valieva faces the risk of being stripped of any Olympic medals and facing sanctions if further rulings go against her.
What about the Beijing Games figure skating gold medal the ROC won?
The team event medals ceremony was called off last Tuesday after the IOC initially said it needed to enter a legal consultation with the ISU over the issue.
CAS was not tasked with considering the legal consequences in the team competition, in which the Russian team finished comfortably ahead of Team USA, Japan and fourth-placed Canada, who could ascend to a bronze medal position if the ROC has its win overturned.
Team USA and Team Canada have both issued statements expressing their disappointment at the verdict on Valieva.
Does the CAS ruling on Valieva make the case closed?
Far from it. The emergency hearing was only held to decide whether RUSADA's lifting of Valieva's provisional ban, allowing her to continue to compete, should have been upheld.
The IOC, ISU and ITA have all said that the case is continuing into the positive test from the Russian national championships in December. WADA has also claimed that CAS did not apply the terms of the code in its decision.
Myriad issues remain unresolved, including how Valieva came to test positive for a WADA-banned substance which some believe is non-performance-enhancing.
It is also unclear whether Valieva, who has trained on the ice since the ruling announcement, will be asking for a B sample test as part of the anti-doping process.
What about other investigations surrounding Valieva’s doping case?
WADA and RUSADA are obliged to carry out a probe into Valieva's entourage as part of the rules around protected persons involved in anti-doping cases.
That could result in punishments including bans from the sport if members of her team are found to have been at fault.
The question of why the result was only announced after the Games had started remains a key one. WADA said that the delay in the result being received was not Valieva's fault, instead appearing to blame RUSADA.
WADA claimed RUSADA had not flagged the sample as being high priority . RUSADA said last week that it was told that Covid-related issues at the lab had caused the hold-up.