The Sports Arbitration Tribunal (TAS) has authorized the 15-year-old Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva to continue competing in the Beijing Winter Olympics despite the positive doping test. The Court announced that it had rejected the appeals of the International Olympic Committee, the World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Skating Union for the restoration of her suspension, allowing Valieva to participate in the individual competition that will open tomorrow.
In a short press conference, Matthieu Reeb, General Manager of Tas, read the Court’s response based on “exceptional circumstances” structured on three orders of consideration: the age of Valieva, who, being less than 16, is a protected person. ‘according to the international code; the ‘irreparable damage’, linked to the suspension, between the integrity and regularity of the races; finally, the stop to the skater gained during the Games, without the athlete being given the opportunity to defend.
The college set up ad hoc for the case, chaired by the Italian Fabio Iudica, lawyer and professor of sports law, expressed itself only on the suspension provision and does not affect the possibility of a future disqualification which may be decided by Wada (the anti-doping world) also retroactively, also ignoring for lack of specific competence, a response on the team competition won on February 7 by Russia thanks to Valieva, author for the first time at the Games of a quadruple jump.
Hence, the results of the races could be rewritten even in many months. The Russian skater, meanwhile, will be able to participate in the individual program that opens tomorrow where she is very favorite for the final victory.
Source: Ansa
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