Wada appeals ‘wrong’ ruling in Valieva doping case

The World Anti-Doping Agency has referred the case of teenage figure skater Kamila Valieva to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Wada said the decision was “wrong under the terms of the World Anti-Doping Code”.

It is seeking a four-year ban for the 16-year-old.

Valieva, then 15, 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 2022 – 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.

Last month, Wada released the findings of Rusada’s doping investigation into Valieva and said it was “concerned” by the decision to clear her.

“The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) has carefully reviewed the full reasoned decision and file related to the case of Russian Olympic Committee figure skater, Kamila Valieva,” Wada said.

“Accordingly, Wada considers the finding by the disciplinary tribunal of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency that the athlete bore ‘no fault or negligence’ to be wrong under the terms of the World Anti-Doping Code in this case and has exercised its right to lodge an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

“Within the appeal, Wada is seeking a four-year period of ineligibility and disqualification of all the athlete’s results from the date of the sample collection on 25 December 2021.

“As it has sought to do throughout this process, Wada will continue to push for this matter to proceed without further undue delay.”