Figure Skating

Rumors about the possible removal of Kamila Valieva remained rumors. In the situation that arose due to the delay in the official awarding of the winners of the Olympic team figure skating tournament and reports of a positive doping test from the Russian single skater Kamila Valieva, who competed in their winners, there was no complete clarity. However, there are signs that the Russian team will still be able to avoid the worst-case scenario for it. Kamila Valieva appeared at the next training session, her name is on the list of participants in individual competitions, and sources say that she is not threatened with removal from them, just like the Russian team - the loss of her team gold. On Thursday, one of the central topics of the Beijing Olympics was the topic related to the figure skating team tournament. The day before, Insidethegames reported that the delay in the official award ceremony of the figure skaters' team tournament, which ended on Monday, was caused by the results of a doping test taken from a member of the Russian team before the Olympics. She confidently won gold in this competition, leaving her rivals from the USA and Japan far behind. Insidethegames insisted that suspicions were aroused by the trial of Kamila Valieva, who is invincible this season. The case "complicated" one important nuance. Kamila Valieva is only 15 years old. According to the World Anti-Doping Code, athletes under the age of 16 are classified as "protected persons". This means, firstly, that even if a doping violation is detected, the relevant structure has the right not to make the name of the athlete public, and secondly, that much milder sanctions, up to a warning instead of disqualification, can be applied to him. The delay arose due to a doping test in which the drug trimetazidine was detected. At the same time, they called the situation “borderline” and “controversial”, arguing that the Russian Olympic Committee has a chance to defend both the athlete and the team gold. Meanwhile, contrary to the promises of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to clarify the situation around the team tournament as soon as possible, there was no talk of complete clarity on Thursday. The representative of the IOC, Mark Adams, at the next briefing, only repeated the thesis about the need for "consultations", describing reports of an allegedly positive sample as "speculation". The International Skating Union (ISU) said in a statement that it "cannot disclose any information about a possible anti-doping rule violation." The commentary of the Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation Oleg Matytsin did not introduce certainty either. He said that his department "is in constant interaction" with the Russian Olympic delegation and "keeps under control the development of the situation related to the postponement of the awards ceremony for winners and prize-winners of team figure skating competitions", and also stressed that "Russia invariably follows the principles of zero tolerance for any violations of sports rules and Olympic ethics", calling for "show patience and refrain from unreasonable comments until official information appears." The figure skater, refusing to answer questions about Insidethegames messages and other resources, practiced as usual, including quadruple jumps. In addition, her name was on the list of participants in the individual singles tournament as part of the Olympics, along with the names of two more athletes included in the application of the Russian team - Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova. They will compete in the short program on February 15. Kamila Valieva is considered the undisputed favorite of the tournament.