Berlin – It all started with medals not awarded. The waiver of the ceremony taking place the day after the competition sounded nebulous – legal reasons had led to a postponement. The medals to the athletes of Russia, USA and Japan for the figure skating team competition have not yet been presented. The legal reasons for this are now known: the banned substance trimetazidine was found in the body of 15-year-old Russian Kamila Valiyeva on December 25, 2021. At least that’s what the A sample says.
However, the team Olympic champion is by no means convicted of doping. Incomprehensibly, this result was not transmitted until February 7th, whether the B sample is also positive, nobody knows yet. And since Valiyeva has not yet reached the age of 16, she is considered a person to be protected under the Anti-Doping Code. On the basis of this, the International Sports Court Cas has now decided in an urgent procedure that the 15-year-old can also start in the individual competition. The IOC had wanted to prevent this start and is now outraged by this decision.
Internally, however, one should be grateful that the buck is passed to someone else in this case, one is not confronted with discussions about one’s own failure in the fight against doping and the approval of Russian athletes. Not allowing the Russian flag to be presented and the national anthem played at award ceremonies is not enough to get systematic doping under control. Especially not when the current team of the Russian Olympic Committee includes team doctors who have already been banned for doping practices. Not the judgment of the Cas, but these conditions are to be questioned.