Kamila Valieva: Russia clears figure skater over doping case
- Published
Kamila Valieva dropped from first place to fourth and out of the medals in the women's singles
Teenage figure skater Kamila Valieva bore "no fault or negligence" for a positive doping test, the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (Rusada) has found.
She will not face any sanctions except the disqualification of her results when the sample was taken in 2021.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) says it is concerned by the finding and may appeal against the decision.
Valieva, then 15, was allowed to compete at the Beijing Winter Olympics despite a failed drugs test.
Rusada said in November it had no intention of releasing the results of its doping investigation into Valieva "in order to protect the interests of the figure skater".
However, Wada - which had been seeking a four-year ban for the athlete - released the findings on Friday after being informed of the decision by Rusada.
It said it had "requested a copy of the full reasoned decision, which it will review together with the case file in order to determine whether the ruling is in line with the terms of the World Anti-Doping Code.
"However, based on the elements of the case with which Wada is already familiar, the agency is concerned by the finding of 'no fault or negligence' and will not hesitate to exercise its right of appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, as appropriate," Wada added.
Valieva failed a drugs test in December 2021 when she tested positive for banned heart medication trimetazidine.
Details of the result only surfaced after she had won gold in the team event at the Beijing Games in February - during which she became the first woman to land a quadruple jump at a Winter Olympics.
She was allowed to compete in the women's singles event after a court lifted her provisional ban.
However, a number of falls and stumbles meant she dropped from first to fourth place, which saw her leave the arena in tears.
Travis Tygart, CEO of the US Anti-Doping Agency (Usada), has called on Wada and skating's governing body the International Skating Union (ISU) to appeal against the decision "for the sake of the credibility of the anti-doping system and the rights of all athletes".
"The world can't possibly accept this self-serving decision by Rusada, which in the recent past has been a key instrument of Russia's state-sponsored doping fraud and is non-compliant," he added.
"Justice demands a full, fair, public hearing outside of Russia."
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