"Two More Drugs Detected in Doping Test" ... Balyieva's Record Marked with Asterisk (*) Even After Winning Gold Medal

IOC "Even if you win a medal, you cannot step onto the podium"

Kamila Valieva of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) competed in the women's singles short program figure skating event at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics held on the afternoon of the 15th at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing, China. After performing to Kirill Richter's "In Memoriam," she shed tears. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Kamila Valieva of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), who was allowed to compete in figure skating at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics despite being caught doping, will have an 'asterisk (*)' placed next to her record even if she wins the gold medal.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced in a daily briefing on the 16th that if Valieva finishes in the medal positions, an 'asterisk' will be attached to her record. The special mark attached to the record will only be removed if she is completely cleared of doping allegations.

Also, even if Valieva enters the medal positions after the free skating on the 17th, no medal ceremony will be held. On the 15th, the IOC stated, "Even if Valieva wins a medal, she will not be allowed to stand on the podium. We will continue to uncover the truth about the doping until the very end, even after the competition ends."

Earlier, on the 11th, according to AP and AFP, a sample collected from Valieva at the Russian Championships on December 25 last year tested positive for the banned substance 'trimetazidine.' Trimetazidine is a medication for angina, which can also be used as a stimulant to increase blood flow and enhance endurance, and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) designated it as a banned substance in 2014.

According to foreign media on the 15th, during the hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), Valieva's mother and lawyer claimed that "the doping was due to heart medication taken by her grandfather." They argued that the medication taken by Valieva's grandfather contaminated the urine sample.

Valieva's test results were notified to the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) only on the 8th of this month, a month and a half after the sample was submitted. This was the day after Valieva secured the gold medal in the figure skating team event.

After the notification, RUSADA imposed a provisional suspension on Valieva. However, when Valieva appealed, RUSADA accepted the appeal and withdrew the sanction within a day, allowing her to compete in the Olympics. The IOC, International Skating Union (ISU), and WADA immediately filed a complaint with CAS, arguing that RUSADA's withdrawal of the sanction was unfair, but it was dismissed.

CAS cited the following reasons for dismissing the appeal: ▲ Valieva is under 16 years old (born April 26, 2006), thus protected under anti-doping rules ▲ the doping test was not conducted during the Olympic period ▲ WADA notified the doping result 46 days after the test.

Ultimately, Valieva competed as scheduled in the women's singles figure skating on the 15th, scoring a technical element score (TES) of 44.51 points, program component score (PCS) of 37.65 points, for a total of 82.16 points, advancing to the free skating in first place.

Meanwhile, The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 16th that according to data from the Stockholm laboratory that tested Valieva's doping sample, in addition to the banned substance trimetazidine, two other substances?hypoxen and L-carnitine, which are not banned?were also detected in the sample.

NYT quoted Travis Tygart, chairman of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), as saying, "The use of one banned substance along with two non-banned substances appears to have been intended to improve endurance, reduce fatigue, and significantly increase oxygen utilization."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.