17-year-old Russian figure skating sensation Kamila Valieva has been slammed with a whopping four-year ban from the sport.
The ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has rocked the skating world, two years after Valieva, then a mere 15-year-old, was caught in a doping scandal that overshadowed the Beijing Winter Olympics.
The verdict means all of Valieva’s achievements post-December 25, 2021 – when the scandal first broke – are wiped from the record books. The teen phenomenon, who had the world at her feet, must now surrender all her titles, awards, medals, and even the cash prizes she raked in after her positive test for the banned heart medication, trimetazidine.
The CAS verdict has triggered a domino effect, potentially stripping the Russian team of their glittering gold medal in the team event at Beijing, and handing it over to the United States. The ice is thinning under Team ROC’s feet as the International Skating Union circles, ready to make its move.
CAS revealed they couldn’t prove that Valieva, a skating prodigy known for her gravity-defying quadruple jumps, took the substance intentionally. Her legal team threw a curveball, claiming it was a freak accident, with the drug prescribed to her grandfather somehow finding its way into her system.
The revelation of Valieva’s positive drug test right after she led Russia to Olympic gold caused a global uproar, with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) shockingly halting the medal ceremony – a move unheard of in Olympic history.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has hailed the CAS ruling as a triumph for clean sport and fair play, slamming the doping of young athletes as “unforgivable.” In contrast, the Russian anti-doping agency, RUSADA, initially played down Valieva’s role in the scandal, claiming she was not at fault.
The Kremlin has cried foul, labeling the ruling “politicized” and hinting at an appeal. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov vowed to fight tooth and nail for Russia’s athletes.
Valieva, who made history in Beijing as the first woman to nail a quadruple jump at the Games, now faces a long wait until the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Games for her shot at redemption, unless an appeal can save her career eariler.
