Russian skater’s doping case to be heard today at Olympics
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GRAHAM DUNBAR
AP Sports Writer
BEIJING (AP) — Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva will find out Monday if she can compete at the Olympics in the women’s competition, which starts a day later.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport said Saturday the expedited hearing on Valieva’s doping case will be held Sunday night in Beijing, with a ruling by Monday afternoon.
The 15-year-old skater, the favorite to win the gold medal, broke down in tears after an emotional practice session Saturday.
At the court’s closed-door hearing, which will be held by video link, lawyers for the Russian Olympic team and Valieva can ask the three judges to listen to a personal statement from her.
Valieva’s status at the Olympics became unclear after she tested positive for the banned heart medication trimetazidine in Russia in December. She won a gold medal in the team event five days ago, before the test result was known, and is scheduled to compete as an individual Tuesday.
Earlier Saturday, CAS confirmed it has received appeals from both the International Olympic Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency challenging Valieva’s right to compete.
The Russian Anti-Doping Agency gave her an automatic ban after testing positive. A day later, RUSADA lifted the provisional ban. The IOC filed an urgent appeal, which the Court of Arbitration of Sport will hear Sunday.
The legal process is unusually complex because of Valieva’s status as a minor, which gives her protections in the anti-doping rule book.
Because Valieva is only 15, her ultimate penalty could be as little as a reprimand. Her entourage of coaches and doctors face more scrutiny because the World Anti-Doping Code mandates they are automatically put under investigation.
Valieva tested positive in a sample given on Dec. 25, when she won the Russian national championships.
That sample was the responsibility of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, known as RUSADA. It was sent to a WADA-approved laboratory in Stockholm, Sweden, for analysis.