Kamila Valieva’s participation in the 2022 Beijing winter Olympics hangs in the balance after the International Testing Agency confirmed she tested positive for a banned substance in December.
Valieva, 15, won gold on Monday as part of Russia’s team figure skating, when she became the first female skater to land a quadruple jump in competition. However, the medals were not awarded due to ‘legal issues’.
Valieva was placed under a preliminary suspension which she challenged and has since been lifted by The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA), PA reported. She appealed against by the International Olympic Committee’s decision. Meanwhile, the International Skating Union has has appealed RUSADA’S decision, calling for the reinstatement of Valieva’s suspension.
Kamila Valieva’s drug test revealed she tested positive for trimetazidine, a heart medication used to treat angina, Reuters reported. Trimetazidine was banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in 2014. It works by increasing blood flow to the heart and limiting rapid swings in blood pressure, essentially preventing an angina attack.
The scandal has highlighted concerns for Valieva, with former Olympic figure skating champion Katerina Witt stating on Facebook: “What they knowingly did to her, if true, cannot be surpassed in inhumanity and makes my athlete’s heart cry infinitely.
“Kamila Valieva is a young girl and child prodigy, whose highly difficult performances and grace enchanted the whole world at only 15, a minor, depending on adults and she is not to blame here.”
Russia was banned from the Olympic games in 2019 for two years for state-sponsored doping in 2019. Russian athletes currently compete under the Russian Olympic Committee and both the Russian anthem and and flag are banned from the 2022 Winter Games.