China News Service, January 31. Recently, the International Court of Arbitration for Sport issued a statement saying that Russian figure skater Kamila Valiyeva was found to have violated anti-doping rules and was banned from competition for four years. The time starts from December 25, 2021. At the same time, her competition results obtained since December 25, 2021 to date have also been cancelled.

  Valyeva (middle) waits for the score after the competition at the Beijing Winter Olympics. Picture taken by China News Service reporter Cui Nan

　　On the 30th local time, the International Skating Union recalculated the figure skating team results of the Beijing Winter Olympics. The score points obtained by Valieva were cancelled, and the Russian Olympic Committee delegation’s gold medal in the figure skating team event was changed to bronze medal.

　　Valyeva was born in 2006 and will only turn 18 in April this year. She was less than 16 years old when she competed in the Beijing Winter Olympics.

　　Valyeva became famous at a young age and showed her talent in figure skating very early. She was once regarded as the favorite to win the women's singles figure skating at the Beijing Winter Olympics. Due to her performance on and off the court, the audience gave her the nickname "K Bao".

  Image source: Screenshot of the International Skating Union website

　　After being punished, Valieva also spoke out on social media. She updated a 15-second skating video in response.

　　In response to this incident, Russia has also spoken out in support of "K Bao".

　　On January 30, local time, the Russian Figure Skating Federation (FFKKR) issued a statement stating that the integrity of the athletes in the team is impeccable and "firmly disagrees with the punishment of Kamila Valiyeva by the International Court of Arbitration for Sport."

　　It is reported that the Russian Figure Skating Federation has not received any official documents yet and is waiting for notification from the International Skating Union.

  Image source: Screenshot of Russian Figure Skating Federation website

　　The Russian Figure Skating Federation emphasized that it will take all necessary measures, including in court, to protect the rights and legitimate interests of the team and athletes. "Protecting the interests of our skaters is always the top priority of the Federation."

　　At the end of the statement, the Russian Figure Skating Federation once again expressed its determination to stand with the team's athletes.

　　According to the Russian Satellite News Agency, the Russian Olympic Committee also stated on the 30th local time that it would suspend Russian figure skater Kamila Valiyeva and cancel the Russian Olympic Committee delegation figure skating team at the Beijing Winter Olympics. The gold medal matter was appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

  Image source: Screenshot of Russian Satellite News Agency report

　　According to reports, the Russian Olympic Committee believes that the punishment of an athlete cannot be a reason to review the results of the team competition and has begun preparing the documents required for an appeal.

　　In addition, the Russian Satellite News Agency stated in another previous report that Russian Presidential Press Secretary Peskov said that the punishment was a politicized decision and Russia would appeal. Peskov stressed that the interests of athletes will always be protected. "If there is any appeals mechanism we should certainly use it."

  Image source: Screenshot of TASS report

　　Peskov said that no matter what decisions are made by international sports organizations, Russians will always regard Kamila Valiyeva and other figure skaters as Winter Olympic champions, TASS reported.

　　Peskov added that the government had paid bonuses to figure skaters who won gold medals at the Beijing Winter Olympics, and the money would not be recovered. (over)