Court Acquits 15-Year-Old Kamila Valieva

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has rejected the appeals from the International Olympic Committee, the International Skating Union, and the World Anti-Doping Agency regarding the temporary removal of 15-year-old Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva from competition. Valieva is set to participate in the figure skating events at the 24th Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.

She won the Olympic team champion title with the Russian team in Beijing. Prior to the 24th Winter Olympic Games, Valieva had tested positive for doping and was removed from competitions by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency. The test was conducted by the Russian agency during the national championship held in Saint Petersburg on December 25.

The response regarding the presence of the banned substance trimetazidine in the athlete's blood sample was received by the Russian side from a Stockholm laboratory (Sweden), accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency, on February 8. Given the athlete’s age, there was no public announcement regarding the positive doping test. The international doping testing agency informed the athlete that she was temporarily suspended from competition.