Anti-doping chief threatens Russian officials over Valieva case
The president of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), Witold Banka, has warned Russian officials that his organization could take action over “delays” in the case involving Olympic figure skating champion Kamila Valieva.
The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) announced last month that it had concluded its investigation into the circumstances surrounding Valieva’s positive test for banned heart drug trimetazidine.
RUSADA president Veronika Loginova said the matter would move to a hearing at a disciplinary anti-doping committee (DAC), which would likely take place in October.
However, RUSADA last week announced that it did not intend to make details of the case public, citing the 16-year-old Valieva’s status as a “protected person” because of her age.
In a social media message on Thursday, WADA president Banka stated that the organization would pursue the case at a higher level if there were further “delays.”
“WADA is concerned with the ongoing delay in Kamila Valieva’s case and has now put RUSADA under formal notice that unless the matter is resolved promptly it will use its right to take it directly to the Court of Arbitration for Sport,” wrote the Polish official.
WADA is concerned with the ongoing delay in Kamila Valieva's case and has now put RUSADA under formal notice that unless the matter is resolved promptly it will use its right to take it directly to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. @wada_ama
— Witold Bańka (@WitoldBanka) October 27, 2022
Valieva tested positive for trimetazidine in a sample collected at the Russian championships last December.
The sample was analyzed at a WADA-accredited laboratory in Stockholm, Sweden, but the positive result was only reported after Valieva had helped Russia win gold in the figure skating team event at the Beijing Winter Olympics in February.
The scandal dominated the Beijing Games, but Valieva was cleared to compete in the individual event by an emergency Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) hearing.
Despite being the strong favorite for gold and world record points holder for her routines, Valieva finished a disappointing fourth overall as the pressure of her case clearly took its toll.
Valieva’s team – which includes revered coach Eteri Tutberidze – have vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
It was argued at their CAS hearing in February that the positive sample may have come via contamination from medication her grandfather was taking.
Russian Olympic officials have also said Valieva passed a number of other doping tests, while questions have been asked about the delay in the WADA laboratory reporting her positive test result.
Valieva and her compatriots are currently banned from official competitions by the International Skating Union (ISU) because of the conflict in Ukraine.
Russian officials have instead organized a Grand Prix series inside their country as compensation.
Valieva won the opening stage of the series in Moscow last weekend, and has unveiled new programs this season which draw upon the theme of her Olympic controversy.
Should Valieva be sanctioned in the investigation, the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) could stand to lose the gold medal it won in the team event in Beijing, where the USA finished second, Japan came third, and Canada finished fourth.
