Figure skating prodigy Kamila Valieva claimed the women’s singles event at the Russian National Jumping Championship in St. Petersburg on Sunday.
The 16-year-old Beijing 2022 Team gold medalist became the youngest ever winner of the singles event at the competition held at the Yubileyny Sports Palace.
She did this by beating fellow teenager Sofia Muravyova, having completed two clean quadruple sheepskin coat moves, which scored her 27.55 points. Muravyova pulled off two triple axels, but her 22.67 points weren’t enough to stop Valieva from taking home the top prize. Third place was shared by Sofia Akatieva and Alisa Dvoeglazova.
Victory at the Russian National Jumping Championship, which was held from December 3-4, provides an upturn in fortunes for Valieva, who has enjoyed mixed results this year.
After starting her campaign at the Beijing Winter Olympics in perfect fashion with a gold medal in the team event, she was then plunged into a doping row after a negative drug test result from Christmas Day 2021 emerged during the Olympics competition in February.
She was previously tipped to win the women’s singles event in the Chinese capital, and though allowed to compete after being cleared by an emergency Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) panel, she finished a disappointing fourth, with the pressure of the controversy seeming to have affected her.
Last month, the CAS confirmed that an appeal from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had been lodged against the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) for how it has handled the investigation into Valieva’s positive test, which allegedly threw up traces of a banned heart medication, trimetazidine, used to treat angina.
The WADA is seeking a four-year ban for Valieva, which would also result in the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) being stripped of the team event gold she helped it win in Beijing.