Kamila Valieva can compete.
The Sports Arbitration Tribunal (TAS) has authorized the 15-year-old Russian figure skater to continue participating in the Beijing Winter Olympics despite a positive doping test .
The Court 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 the very young athlete to compete in the individual competition that will open tomorrow and where she is very favored.
In a short press conference, Matthieu Reeb, director general of TAS, read the response of the Court based "on exceptional circumstances" structured on three orders of consideration: the age of Valieva, who being less than 16 years old is a "protected person "according to the international code; the" irreparable damage ", linked to the suspension, between the integrity and regularity of the competitions; finally, the stop to the skater accrued during the Games, without the athlete being able to be given the opportunity for defense.
THE VERDICT - 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 eventuality of a future disqualification which may be decided by Wada (global anti-doping) also retroactively. The team competition won on February 7 by Russia thanks to Valieva, author for the first time at the Games of a quadruple jump, was not judged. The results of the races could be rewritten even in many months.
THE CASE - The fuss over the diamond of Russian skating arose when the International Testing Agency, the independent agency that manages anti-doping in Beijing 2022, confirmed that Valieva tested positive on December 25, 2021, during the Russian national championships of St. Petersburg where he won gold, for trimetadizine, a banned drug that is used against heart ailments.
The IOC had therefore decided to challenge the readmission of the athlete and asked for the immediate suspension and disqualification.
(Unioneonline / D)