BEIJING — Kamila Valieva has been cleared to compete at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
In a momentous decision, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled Monday in favor of the Russian figure skating superstar and the country’s anti-doping agency, dismissing the provisional suspension that Valieva would have otherwise faced after she tested positive for a banned heart medication called trimetazidine.
The CAS panel reasoned that the six-week delay from the time Valieva’s sample was collected to the time she was informed of the positive result was “not her fault” and noted her special status as a “protected person” under world anti-doping rules, because she is not yet 16.
“In particular, the Panel considered that preventing the Athlete from competing at the Olympic Games would cause her irreparable harm in these circumstances,” CAS wrote in its decision.
The three arbitrators who handled the case were Fabio Iudica of Italy, Jeffrey Benz of the U.S. and Vesna Bergant Rakočeviċ of Slovenia.
The ruling means that the 15-year-old will be able to compete in the women’s individual competition, which starts Tuesday. She is favored to win gold in the event.
It also sparked immediate backlash, including from the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. Sarah Hirshland, the CEO of the USOPC, said it was “disappointed by the message this decision sends.”
“It is the collective responsibility of the entire Olympic community to protect the integrity of sport and to hold our athletes, coaches and…
