Kamila Valieva doping scandal: RUSADA appeals decision not to ban Russian figure skater, requests ‘reprimand’

Following an initial ruling that 15-year-old Olympic figure skater Kamila Valieva had no “fault or negligence” in testing positive for a banned substance in December 2021, the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) filed an appeal with a court in the Russian Federation. Arbitration for Sport (CAS), in which he recommends disciplinary action against Valieva.

CAS announced the entry of RUSADA into the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Skating Union (ISU) in an appeal against the original decision on Friday. However, RUSADA demands a more lenient punishment for Valieva than the other two departments. In its appeal, RUSADA calls for “appropriate consequences (which may include or be limited to a reprimand)”.

In December 2021, Valieva was found to have traces of trimetazidine. Despite this result, RUSADA allowed 15-year-old Valiyeva to participate in the 2022 Olympics. After reviewing her case, RUSADA initially stated that Valieva had indeed committed an anti-doping rule violation, but found no fault with her for the failed test.

Following further investigation into RUSADA’s initial decision, WADA recently announced that it would appeal to CAS. In its appeal, WADA demanded a four-year ban on Valieva, as well as a ban on all of her results after Christmas 2021.

“As part of the appeal, WADA seeks a four-year period of Ineligibility and Ineligibility for all Athlete Results from the Sample collection date of December 25, 2021,” WADA said in a statement. “As has been sought throughout this process, WADA will continue to insist that this matter be reviewed without further undue delay.”

A day later, the ISU announced that he will also appeal RUSADA’s decision to CAS. The ISU also wants a disqualification for all of Valieva’s results as she tested positive, but leaves the length of the ban up to CAS.

“ISU is seeking disqualification at the sole discretion of CAS effective December 25, 2021 and disqualification of all results achieved during that period, including the forfeiture of any medals, points and prizes,” the ISU said in a statement.

The ISU has said it wants to protect athletes from the negative effects of doping, but to do so, sanctions must be imposed on those found guilty of doping.

“The ISU believes that all young athletes should be protected from doping. Such protection cannot be provided by exempting young athletes from sanctions,” the ISU said in a statement.

At the 2022 Olympics, just months after a failed drug test, Valieva and the rest of the Russians won gold in the team event. The United States agreed to the silver. If Valieva’s results are disqualified, the US will retroactively receive a gold medal.

In a statement released earlier this month, US Figure Skating says it is ‘deeply disappointed’ how long the process took and urged the world’s anti-doping authorities to make a decision so that athletes can get the recognition they deserve.