“You can drag out the process indefinitely”: WADA and ISU announced their desire to appeal to CAS in the case of Valieva

“We hope that the case will be considered as soon as possible”

The case of Kamila Valieva seems to be gaining new momentum.

In January, RUSADA did not find fault or negligence in the anti-doping rule violation by the figure skater and did not cancel the results of her performance at the Beijing Olympics.

Thus, the distribution of medals in the team tournament, where the Russians took first place, remained in force.

However, the World Anti-Doping Agency does not intend to put up with such a verdict.

WADA stated that they received a copy of the full reasoning decision of the RUSADA disciplinary committee and other materials.

The organization retained the right to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

“We have previously expressed concern about the decision of the disciplinary anti-doping committee that the athlete does not bear “no guilt” (for anti-doping rule violations. -

) and there is no “negligence” in this ... Our priority task is to ensure that this issue was reviewed as soon as possible and without further undue delay, ”WADA USA Today is quoted as saying.

The same actions are going to be taken at the International Skating Union, where copies of the materials were received in early February.

At the same time, the ISU stressed that it will be possible to establish the final results of the Olympic 2020 team tournament only after the completion of the investigation.

The direct decision on the distribution of awards in this case will remain with the International Olympic Committee.

The IOC, in turn, welcomed WADA's readiness to completely review RUSADA's verdict on Valieva in order to understand what steps to take in the future.

“The IOC hopes that the case will be considered as quickly as possible.

It is also in the interest of all parties involved, especially the athletes who have so far not been able to claim their medals from the Beijing 2022 Olympics.

The ISU will be able to establish the final results of the team figure skating competitions within these Games, and the IOC will decide on the distribution of medals only after the completion of the case, ”the organization noted.

The United States is watching the investigation with particular attention, because if Valieva's results in Beijing are annulled, the gold medals will go to the American figure skaters who took second place.

Therefore, USADA CEO Travis Tigert regularly expresses dissatisfaction with the length of the process.

This time he lamented that it was impossible even approximately to determine when the point would be made.

The functionary expressed the hope that WADA will not only appeal to CAS, but also require public and expedited hearings so that the fate of the awards is determined this summer.

At the same time, he did not rule out the possibility that everything would be delayed until 2024.

“All athletes, including Kamila Valieva, were let down by the entire international system.

Obviously, the Russians are primarily to blame, since they allowed it, but the whole system is also responsible for allowing the Russian fiasco to turn into a mockery of justice, because of which the athletes lost (fruits. -

) their performances , hard work and sacrifice,” said Tigert.

And the US Figure Skating Federation has previously demanded a fair decision so that athletes who are innocent of anti-doping rule violations receive their medals without delay.

"The problem is bigger than one awards ceremony"

Valieva herself involuntarily added fuel to the fire.

On the anniversary of the victory of the Russian team in the team tournament, she published a post on social networks with a photo of a joyful domestic team.

She called this moment one of the happiest in her life and thanked all the partners.

A day earlier, Camila remembered how she won the short program.

“For my performance, I received a score of 90.18, which became a new Olympic record.

This day and this rental will remain in my memory forever.

I share the full video and together with you I remember how it was, ”Valiyeva wrote in the Telegram channel.

The girl's posts caused a negative reaction from some foreign skaters.

For example, Pyeongchang Olympic team champion Megan Duhamel expressed indignation at the fact that the Americans and Japanese, who also won medals in Beijing, still have not received them.

She urged WADA and the IOC to inform the public what has been done to resolve the sensitive issue.

But most of all, the skaters from the United States are unhappy, who still expect to get gold.

For example, national team captain Evan Bates described the long wait as frustrating.

And Zachary Donoghue, who plans to retire at the end of the season, lamented that even if the team is awarded the victory, the athletes will not receive recognition and generous sponsorship contracts, since the moment has long been lost.

In his opinion, such a strong delay in issuing a final verdict in the Valieva case undermines the integrity of Olympic values ​​​​and can negatively affect people's desire to seriously engage in sports.

“This is about much more than just one awards ceremony.

It's about how the world perceives sports, in particular figure skating.

And that is what is actually at stake,” Donoghue told NPR.

Waiting for a decision and the Japanese, located in third position.

One of the members of the Asian team, Ryuichi Kihara, admitted that after a year he sometimes does not believe in success, because he still has not received a medal.

“You can drag out the process indefinitely”

According to the European champion Sergei Novitsky, there is no point in Valieva's case yet.

He believes that the situation with the European champion is even convenient for WADA, and “her card” will be played there for a long time.

“Unfortunately, the process can be dragged out indefinitely.

Just like that, from Camila, resigning herself to the decision of RUSADA, no one will be left behind.

It is difficult to say whether the reason is solely doping or the case is politically tinged.

Most likely, both.

Now in any area, all processes are taking place with an eye on the political conjecture, ”the expert complained in a commentary on RT.

At the same time, he called a possible revision of the results of the team tournament a dangerous precedent.

Novitsky explained that such a move could undermine not only the confidence of the athletes in the IOC, but also in the Olympic movement.

He also criticized foreign skaters who allow themselves to attack Valieva.

“Our guys with their sweat and blood deserved the gold medals of the team tournament.

On the other hand, the same Americans can be understood.

After all, we are not talking about simple awards, pieces of metal.

The struggle unfolded to forever go down in history as Olympic champions.

This is incredibly significant.

And this achievement will not even cover the fact that it will actually be achieved in the offices of WADA and CAS, and not on the ice, ”added the European champion.