Kamila Valieva of Russia charged into the top level of figure skating just four months ago when she competed in her first senior-level international competition. A prima ballerina on blades, she started setting world records for points with her fast-whirring quadruple jumps and artistry so elegant that she radiated maturity.
Going into the Beijing Games, 15-year-old Valieva was tabbed as the favorite to win, but now is at the center of a doping scandal that might be the beginning of the end of a brilliant career if she cannot compete in the Olympic women’s singles event on Tuesday.
Caught up in this whirlwind, Valieva tried to hide her face from reporters last week at the practice rink in Beijing after revelations that she had failed a doping test by testing positive for a banned heart medication weeks before the Games. She was without the pastel-colored, stuffed rabbit toy she sometimes clutched close when reporters started prodding.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport will decide by Monday afternoon if she can compete in the Olympics but, no matter the outcome, and no matter who bears the most responsibility for the scandal, she faces a future of scrutiny over whether performance-enhancing drugs have helped her win.
This was far from the moment Valieva had been waiting for since she was 3. It was then, as just a toddler, that she told her mother back in the Russian city of Kazan that she wanted to be an Olympic champion.
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