The darling of the 2022 Olympics is at the center of a brewing drug controversy.
Kamila Valieva, the 15-year-old Russian skating sensation, failed a drug test taken before the team competition, according to reports from the website Inside the Games and a Russian newspaper.
The news came after Valieva led the Russian team to gold with her elite quad jump on Monday — a move she had never tried in competition for the first time.
The reports, labeled as a “legal issue,” caused the medal ceremony to be delayed.
The International Testing Agency (ITA), which is conducting drug testing at Beijing 2022, released a statement saying it is aware of the reports about the situation.
“Any announcement connected to these events would always be publicly issued on the ITA’s website and not commented on otherwise. No such announcement has been published to date,” the ITA said.
Because of her age, Valieva is considered by the World Anti-Doping Agency to be a “Protected Person.”
Prominent journalist Vasily Konov reported that the test was taken two months ago. Two Russian newspapers identified the drug as Trimetazidine, which is typically used to treat chest pain, according to Reuters.
Former Russian pairs skater Tatiana Volosozhar, who won two gold medals at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, offered words of support for Valieva on social media, calling for the use of the Russian hashtag Iwillneverbelieve to send the teenager support.
Her post was “liked” on Instagram by Valieva herself.
According to the WADA code treats Protected Persons “differently than other Athletes in certain circumstances based on the understanding that, below a certain age or intellectual capacity [they] may not possess the mental capacity to understand and appreciate the prohibitions against conduct contained in the Code.”
Russian Figure Skating Federation spokesperson Olga Yermolina said the organization is “waiting for information.”
Mark Adams, a spokesperson for International Olympic Committee (IOC) said “because there are legal implications involved I can’t talk very much about it at this stage,” in a daily press conference at the Winter Games.
President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged the public to “wait for some clarification from our sports officials, or from the IOC for understanding.”
Valieva led the Russians to gold in Monday’s team event, in which the United States took silver and Japan won bronze. Canada was fourth.
Valieva has garnered international attention for her skating skills and popularity online. She has over 350 million followers on her Instagram page and has already appeared in the Russian edition of Vogue.
She was too young to compete at last year’s World Championships in Stockholm, but at the European Championships in Tallinn last month Valieva became the first woman to score more than 90 points in the short programme, setting a world record of 90.45 on her way to the title.
Valieva was favored to win gold in the individual events, beginning next week in Beijing. Now, her Olympic future is uncertain.
#WinterOlympics #Beijing2022 #ROC #Russia #Figure Skating
kamila valieva 2022,
kamila valieva olympics 2022,
kamila valieva quad,
kamila valieva interview,
kamila valieva short program,
kamila valieva triple axel,
kamila valieva short program olympics 2022,
kamila valieva 2021,
kamila valieva avatar,
kamila valieva anna shcherbakova,
kamila valieva alina zagitova,
kamila valieva analysis,
kamila valieva axel,
kamila valieva avatar music,
kamila valieva aladdin,
kamila valieva and putin,
kamila valieva bolero,
kamila valieva beijing,
kamila valieva beijing 2022,
kamila valieva beijing 2022 performance,
kamila valieva ballet,
kamila valieva beijing olympics,
kamila valieva beijing short program,
kamila valieva beijing 2022 quadruple, .
JAPON2021.COM