The Court of Arbitration for Sport will have the final say as to whether teen ice skating sensation Kamila Valieva will be allowed to compete in the women’s singles event at the Beijing Olympics.
The date of the emergency hearing before the panel was not clear Friday. The competition begins Tuesday night in Beijing with the short program.
Valieva’s eligibility was thrust into doubt earlier this week when it was rumored she tested positive for a banned substance in December. She was part of the team representing the Russian Olympic Committee that won the gold medal in the team competition, but that medals ceremony has been delayed.
On Friday, the International Testing Agency confirmed Valieva’s positive test, taken at the Russian national championship in December. The drug in question is Trimetazidine, used by patients to treat angina. It has been banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency since 2014.
Dr. Elizabeth Murray, who specializes in pediatric emergency medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center, told CNN that in the case of athletes taking the drug, “They would theoretically be able to perform at a higher level for longer. It would increase their endurance, potentially.”
Only 15, Valieva is the favorite to win the gold medal in the women’s competition. In the team competition, she landed the first quadruple jump by a woman in Olympics history.
The World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Testing Agency, on behalf of the International Olympic Committee, requested the hearing.
The Russian Olympic Committee said a drug test taken in Beijing by Valieva came back clean. Russia’s anti-doping agency provisionally banned Valieva on Tuesday but lifted the ban the following day after an appeal.
–Field Level Media