Kamila Valieva: Anti-doping Case and Follow-ups

[Alex Fedorov]

I´m not sure it´s a rumor or not, since it has been mentioned in the thread here before, but honestly I thought it was just joking. I read on Twitter that Kamilas defence is that she drank from her grandfathers glas of water while she was taking care of him in the middle of RusNats apparently, and that´s why she tested positive.

If this really is her story then it´s quite obvious this is not the real story. Consider the pandemic and all this story sounds very unreal because she would not be drinking from another persons glas and risk of getting covid now... And yeah is just so very unlikely but also kind of a story you would expect trying to get away with... And if this is the story she is not denying she had it in her body so either way this doesn´t look good at all.

As Roald Amundsen once said, on Twitter, phrases are sometimes attributed to famous people that they never said.

 

[florin]

This is all so hard to read. I bet she just wants to go home and try to forget this ever happened. Eteri may be trying to cheer her up but, IMO, Eteri is the one who should feel bad about this situation. I have a feeling she had her hand in the development of this entire scandal.

 

[flotsam]

In my opinion IOC & ISU needs clean house. They just put black eye on the sport.
What damage have they done to clean skaters? I have been watching since Peggy Fleming won Olympics, begged my dad for pair of skates. Won’t be watching ladies skating.

The IOC and ISU don't want Valieva skating. They're the ones (along with WADA) who appealed to CAS to have her suspension reinstated.

 

[Ziotic]

I wonder if she’s invited to the gala?

 

[readernick]

You guys keep arguing as if it would change anything anyway. The only past skater who brave enough to spoke on IG is Yuna which is very unexpected since she basically famous for being reserve in interviews and always give politically correct comments even after retiring. She alone is not enough. Ashley and Adam spoke about it too but on twitter, not many people saw those and both of these people were never as respected as Yuna.

I honestly dont think other federation care about it as much to make any change like the people arguing here. If they mind they should talk but no one did, well may be the Olympic committee of the US and Canada but not the Fed and with a very standard statement to booth.

Not even the Japanese who would likely be the one who got an upgraded medal talk, so it is what it is. Yes I m also skeptical that the later investigation would change anything.

Actually, I've seen so many former figure skaters make comments about this. It wouldn't be possible to name them all. Some have even been on TV. They all ( former Russian skaters possibly excepted) have expressed disappointment, sadness, and anger at this decision.

 

[Mista Ekko]

In my opinion IOC & ISU needs clean house. They just put black eye on the sport.
What damage have they done to clean skaters? I have been watching since Peggy Fleming won Olympics, begged my dad for pair of skates. Won’t be watching ladies skating.

I'm assuming they'll fight hard to raise the eligibility age asap, It would seem like they give a damn about this predicament,
(even though it was already being discussed), will solve minor law blockages and maybe calm the abuse claims down as well.

But yeah they're not looking good right now.

 

[yume]

Look, there is champions' league this week so no more skating. I already didn't watch much and i won't watch more. Ciao.

 

[Ducky]

All of this is just awful: the rest of the Russian team who competed fairly, the Russian women who should have made the team, the other teams who are being denied their Olympic moment, and the message that it's all right to dope skaters as long as they're under 16 and you don't ask to expedite the results so they only arrive a month later.

 

[macy]

I'm assuming they'll fight hard to raise the eligibility age asap, It would seem like they give a damn about this predicament,
(even though it was already being discussed), will solve minor law blockages and maybe calm the abuse claims down as well.

But yeah they're not looking good right now.

given that the ISU was one of the organizations who appealed RUSADAs decision to cancel Kamila's ban, i'd fully expect them to raise the age limit after this.

 

[Erin9]

You make fair points. But because KV is a minor age athlete according to the IOC rule book she is not subject to disciplinary action like a senior age athlete would that tested positive for a banned substance.

Now that is not fair to you and many other people but the IOC created that rule to protect minor age athletes. Right now Kamila is benefitting from that. And that's why the rule was put in place.

Until now- I could see both sides of the issue regarding whether minors should/should not compete.

All this does is make me think they should not compete. If the rules aren’t applicable because they’re minors- they they shouldn’t compete. It’s terribly unfair to everybody.

 

[mrrice]

All of this is just awful: the rest of the Russian team who competed fairly, the Russian women who should have made the team, the other teams who are being denied their Olympic moment, and the message that it's all right to dope skaters as long as they're under 16 and you don't ask to expedite the results so they only arrive a month later.

I agree 100%. Russia is so deep in the Ladies talent that they could have sent the 4th, 5th, or 6th place winner from Nationals and won this event fair and square. They rest of the team has been, and probably will continue to be dragged into this scandal as well. I can only imagine the response they will receive at Worlds.

 

[Tavi...]

You make fair points. But because KV is a minor age athlete according to the IOC rule book she is not subject to disciplinary action like a senior age athlete would that tested positive for a banned substance.

Now that is not fair to you and many other people but the IOC created that rule to protect minor age athletes. Right now Kamila is benefitting from that. And that's why the rule was put in place.

You are wrong.

The code generally provides for leniency towards minors aka protected persons, but is silent on how protected persons are treated with respect to provisional suspensions. Because of that, the panel decided they could make up their own rules to apply to Kamila. Normally it’s the opposite: when a law contains a general rule where the drafters (people who wrote the law) could have, but did not, specify exceptions, the general rule is assumed to apply. Basically, the panel here made law -rather than interpreting it - in a way that was favorable to Kamila based on a pretty flimsy view of what was fair under the circumstances and in a way that conflicts with past CAS decisions.

Incidentally, CAS is not a court of law. It’s an independent body providing arbitration services to various sports entities like WADA, the IOC , etc, who voluntarily agree to bring cases before a CAS appointed panel and abide by the panel’s decisions. The arbitrators are not infallible, and despite the fact that I like Kamila’s skating very much (and as sorry as I feel for her), I think they made a terrible decision.

 

[mskater93]

I'm quite annoyed about the decision to let her skate tomorrow but reading the decision this is looking increasingly like a WADA heckup as well - why on earth would they not have a regulation to cover this circumstance in their code?

But it looks as though far too many people around the internet are taking this as "CAS has decided Valieva didn't dope" and are running hysterically with that incorrect interpretation, instead of "CAS has decided Valieva can skate until it is determined if she doped". She could still be banned retroactively. Medals can still be stripped. She hasn't got away with it.

She gets to skate. If she wins, everyone will always remember she won. Kind of like college football teams who cheated with paying players. They vacate the wins after the fact, but no one remembers that part. The team who did it "the right way" still had to suffer the defeat in person. If she wins and is later retroactively suspended, it's unfair to the winner and the person who is elevated to bronze. It's unfair that everyone will get their medals in the mail because it's all on hold. It's unfair for team medalists who won't get their medal.

 

[Alex Fedorov]

given that the ISU was one of the organizations who appealed RUSADAs decision to cancel Kamila's ban, i'd fully expect them to raise the age limit after this.

By itself, it doesn't say anything. In this situation, such actions are taken almost automatically. Another thing is that some ISU interest in raising the age limit was noticeable before, and the current episode may become an additional pretext.

 

[Ali81]

That's not from any desire for an unsatisfactory, nebulous outcome. The IOC does not want to award Valieva a medal with this controversy surrounding the competition. They don't even want her to skate, but CAS has effectively overruled that.

I'd be surprised if the IOC and ISU don't change their jurisdiction rules for doping and suspensions following all of this.

On reflection, I do agree with you. I suppose it is more fair to not hold the ceremony. It will sting for 2 of the podium winners though. Apparently CAS ruled explicitly against the WADA code , which is interesting...

 

[momrk]

The damage this has done this sport and all of its athletes is awful and this is damage that will have long-lasting implications. So sad for a sport I have loved for so long. The worst part, is if all those fancy groups had done their jobs correctly, none of this would have happened. No, don't think I will watch Tuesday night beyond a few isolated performances.

 

[McBibus]

More than the audience, I'm curious to see how this will affect Kamila's scores - not how she skates, but how that is perceived by the judges.

We all know how much GOEs and PCS are based upon the skater's reputation, the 'wow' factor, and the judges' desires, conscious or unconscious, to crown a winner for their Olympic moment. How will all this controversy affect that? The IOC is angry, different federations are displeased, and fellow skaters aren't happy. There's no way the judges are following this impartially either, and we know that the judging was never 'objective' anyways.

I wouldn't be surprised if she faces more scrutiny than she has at any point in juniors or seniors. For years, people have seen her as the favorite for this event. Now, she's skating as the person many people believe shouldn't even be competing.

Before discharging their anger on Kamila I hope they will consider that it would be the final nail in the coffin of ISU and judges credibility.
It's almost impossibile for me to imagine Kamila skating on her par (I fear a disaster), but if she will manager to do it and the judges will kill her how could we ever watch a competition again without changing channel every time a score is announced?
Reputational score base on a sequence of great performances is somehow understandable, but that would be "I give high/low GOE/PCS because I like/don't like the skater as a person".
Shooting their own feet

 

[NaVi]

After Eteri shows to her phone with the news, she quietly says with smiling "hurrah.." Eteri asks, "Is that all?" (meaning - "Only such a weak reaction?") Kamila, smiling, says, "I don't feel anything anymore, I don't have emotions anymore." And then she goes to the corner, turns away to the wall hiding from the camera-man and there she quietly cries while tuning the soundtrack on her phone for exercise. It's all heartbreaking."

Sorry, but I found that clip kind of disturbing. While I hold out hope that Kamila will be shown(perhaps through testing her hair) to be innocent(or at least not chronically using TMZ), there's a not insignificant chance Kamila doesn't know she ingested this banned substance yet her coach(es) know.

I really worry that she has no voices speaking with her besides her coaches and federation and she doesn't truly understand the odds stacked against her.

Here's what'd I'd do in her situation: https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/kamila-valieva.72542/post-2935206

1. Slam being put into this situation without casting blame on anyone specifically.
2. Thanks CAS for agreeing she should have been allowed to compete in the individual event. Mention that because of his case future athletes are less likely to be put in this situation.
3. Mention that if you win your case you'll still have and cherish your Gold medal from the Team Event.
4. Pull out of the individual event so that the medalists can have their moment
5. Say you're leaving immediately to mount a defense. I might include a mention of hoping that providing a hair sample can help prove innocence.
6. Say you hope to be skating at the World FIgure Skating Championships.

 

[florin]

The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) has issued a statement in connection with the decision of the visiting panel of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Beijing to allow Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva to participate in the Olympic personal tournament.

"Regarding the information disseminated in the media about the delay in the analysis of the athlete's sample, we consider it necessary to report the following.

When planning testing and implementing doping control, RAA RUSADA strictly complies with the requirements of the World Anti-Doping Code and international standards, in particular the International Standard for Testing and Investigations and the International Standard for the Protection of Privacy and Personal Information.

The sample of the athlete, selected on December 25, 2021, was delivered to the laboratory in time enough to perform the analysis in a standard time frame.

After the expiration of the deadlines stipulated by the international standard, the laboratory informed the agency about delays in conducting analyses and reporting by the laboratory due to the next wave of COVID-19, the increase in morbidity among laboratory personnel and quarantine rules.

At the same time, in its messages, the laboratory indicated the deadlines for the readiness of the analysis results, allowing to receive information from the laboratory until the end of January 2022, that is, before the start of the Olympic Games in Beijing. Also, in January, the laboratory informed that the analysis would be performed as a priority, but the conclusion about the unfavorable result of the analysis was submitted on February 7, 2022.

Disclosure of other details concerning the procedure for analyzing the athlete's sample is unacceptable and may lead to a violation of the interests of the parties, primarily the "protected person".

After receiving the laboratory's conclusion, RAA RUSADA immediately started the procedure of processing the results, preparing a set of necessary documents, notifying all interested parties. At the request of the athlete's representatives to hold expedited hearings on the issue of temporary suspension, RAA RUSADA took all necessary measures as soon as possible to organize and conduct hearings by an independent Disciplinary anti-Doping Committee.

Currently, RAA RUSADA continues to process the results and investigate the case, as a result of which an independent disciplinary body will assess all the circumstances related to a possible violation of anti-doping rules," the statement reads.

 

[Fanof]

Sorry, but I found that clip kind of disturbing. While I hold out hope that Kamila will be shown(perhaps through testing her hair) to be innocent(or at least not chronically using TMZ), there's a not insignificant chance Kamila doesn't know she ingested this banned substance yet her coach(es) know.

I really worry that she has no voices speaking with her besides her coaches and federation and she doesn't truly understand the odds stacked against her.

Here's what'd I'd do in her situation: https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/kamila-valieva.72542/post-2935206

Why would she do that? Why would she give up gold, money, fame and glory in Russia? Even if she is stripped of a medal, which is not certain at all since the sanction can be a reprimand with no suspension, she can even be a victim which I'm pretty sure is even better.

"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to participate, because the important thing in life is not the triumph but the fight; the essential thing is not to have won but to have fought well." Sorry, just kidding...