Russian officials are outraged at WADA’s demand to “strip the team of its gold medals. Gatlin is an Olympic champion after being disqualified twice.

Last Updated on 11/16/2022 by てんしょく飯

CAS demands “4-year suspension” and “cancellation of competition results

Figure  fans around the world are now watching the punishment demanded of the “girl prodigy”.

On November 14, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) should impose a “four-year suspension” on female figure skater Kamila Valieva, “cancel her results in competitions in which she competed, including the Russian Championships on December 25 last year (2022 European Championships),” and “cancel her results in Beijing 2022. The announcement also stated that the company has demanded a “four-year suspension,” “cancellation of the results of the competitions in which she competed (the 2022 European Championships), including the Russian Championships on December 25 last year,” and “deprivation of the team gold medal at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

At the Beijing Olympics this past February, Valieva, then 15, won gold in the figure skating team competition as a member of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC). However, before the individual competition, it was discovered that the banned substance trimethazine was detected in her doping sample. Nevertheless, CAS allowed Valieva to compete in the individual competition, and as a result, she finished in fourth place. However, the silver medalist in the team competition, USA, and the bronze medalist, Japan, have not been awarded medals to this day.

The WADA release came as a huge shock to the Russian figure skating world, and the tense situation in Russia continues to this day, with a variety of opinions being exchanged among experts.

According to Russian sports channel Match TV, Alexey Jerezhnyakov, choreographer for Eteri Tutvelyse’s team at Sambo 70, to which Valieva belongs, said, “Even if WADA demands Valieva be disqualified for four years, the CAS will not necessarily make the decision they are seeking. It doesn’t necessarily mean that CAS will make the decision they are looking for. Nothing has been approved yet, and no hearings have been held,” he said.

Irina Rodnina, the “greatest pairs queen of all time,” who has won 10 consecutive World Championships and three consecutive gold medals since the 1972 Sapporo Olympics, said, “We have to wait for the CAS to make a decision. We don’t know what the situation is, what exactly the claims are, or what the basis of the lawsuit is. It is not an official decision yet, so let’s not panic and wait for the court’s decision,” she told “Match TV.

Another media outlet, “RBC Sports,” interviewed Alexandre Zourin, a gold medalist at the 1993 Ice Dance World Championships. He could not hide his anger at WADA’s demands, saying, “This is very unfair. Kamila, my favorite in the women’s singles, had traces of a substance on her that I don’t understand at all. It would be reckless to expect anything different in the disposal of Valieva,” he says.

In addition, Zuerlein’s words escalate further when he complains that the incident even threatens to undermine the development of figure skating around the world.

This is clearly psychological pressure,” Zuerlein said. （It’s like Camila has been deprived of 300 years of competition and sentenced to death. Their demands are completely ridiculous. I can’t bear to see what happens in a competition without Russian athletes. It’s some kind of terrible skating,” he added.

He ended by spitting out, “There is a runner named Justin Gatlin, who was disqualified twice and became an Olympic champion. He was able to reach incredible speeds because he was doping heavily. He lives in a country like the United States, so all is forgiven,” he said sarcastically.

Gatlin, whom Zuerlein used as an example, is a U.S. track and field star who won the gold medal in the 100m at the 2004 Athens Olympics and many medals at the World Championships, but has been suspended twice in the past for doping violations. Gatlin announced her retirement on her Instagram on February 10, her 40th birthday this year.

The doping allegations against Valieva have rocked the Russian figure world. The settlement of the case is likely to drag on.