International Olympic Committee confirms that an asterisk will be applied to the result of the women's figure skating at the Winter Olympics because it would be preliminary; IOC also says American sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson case is different from that of Valieva
Thursday 17 February 2022 17:42, UK
Kamila Valieva will have an asterisk applied to her name in the Olympic record books if she converts her lead after the short program into victory in the women's figure skating competition in Beijing on Thursday.
The 15-year-old, who has been allowed to continue to compete in Beijing despite a positive drugs test, scored 82.16, her lowest of the season, on Tuesday night, but it was still enough for top position ahead of her Russian compatriot Anna Shcherbakova.
Valieva faces the prospect of being thrown out of the Games and having her results - including her gold in the team event last week - expunged from the records if her test for the banned heart medication trimetazidine is upheld.
The International Olympic Committee has already confirmed no medals will be awarded pending the outcome if Valieva finishes in the top three, and its spokesman Mark Adams confirmed: "There will be an asterisk about the results on Friday because they will be preliminary.
"This case has not yet concluded and the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) have made that very clear. In fact as far as I know, the B sample hasn't even been opened, so I think drawing conclusions like this at this stage is really inappropriate."
The IOC also commented that the doping case of American sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson, who missed the Tokyo Olympics due to a one-month ban, is different from that of Valieva.
"Every single case is very different. She (Richardson) tested positive on June 19 (2021), quite a way ahead of the Tokyo Games," IOC spokesman Mark Adams said. The Tokyo Olympics, delayed by a year due to the pandemic, started on July 23.
"Her results came in early order for USADA (US Anti-Doping Agency) to deal with the case on time, before the Games. Ms Richardson accepted a one month period of ineligibility which began on June 28."
"I would suggest that there isn't a great deal of similarity between the two cases," he said.
A number of athletes and former athletes, including direct rivals of Valieva, have questioned her right to remain in the competition or the perceived unfairness of allowing her to compete in spite of her positive sample, including Richardson, who was expected to be one of the biggest draws in Tokyo after winning the 100 metres at the US trials.
She later said her action to consume cannabis was the result of mourning the death of her mother.
"Can we get a solid answer on the difference of (Valieva's) situation and mines?" Richardson wrote on Twitter on Monday. "My mother died and I can't run and was also favored to place top 3. The only difference I see is I'm a black young lady."
"Failed in December and the world just now know however my result was posted within a week and my name & talent was slaughtered to the people," Richardson said in another tweet.
Particular attention has turned to the third-ranked skater after the short program, Japan's Kaori Sakamoto, who also won bronze in the team event, but who faces the prospect of going home from Beijing without a confirmed medal.
"My heart goes out to the athletes but we all have to follow the rules," added Adams. "I respect the opinions of all those great skaters but we have an absolute duty to follow the letter of the law, and due process is very, very important."
Valieva's positive test was revealed last Tuesday, one day after the conclusion of the team event. Her automatic provisional suspension was lifted by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, whose decision was effectively upheld by CAS despite an appeal led by the International Testing Agency.
Sky Sports' Geraint Hughes:
"The IOC and Beijing 2022 organisers have a medal ceremony to organise. Why, though, were we ever in this situation?
"It was horrible watching 15-year-old Kamila Valieva stumble, fall and make mistakes in her - and the Individual Skating competition's - final performance. It was worse seeing a teenager in tears as she left the ice and fell into the arms of those who are potentially now the source of an investigation by the World Anti-Doping Agency over their conduct into why Valieva returned a positive drugs test on December 25, 2021.
"The Olympics are meant to be the pinnacle of sport, yet the last week has seen a 15-year-old at its centre for all the wrong reasons. So many athletes from a variety of countries have been asking the IOC, WADA and CAS why an athlete, regardless of their age, who has returned a positive 'A' sample for a banned substance, is allowed to compete in any competition - let alone the Olympics?
"Also, why on earth did no one think it was a bad idea to expose a 15-year-old to the environment she has been competing in? It would have been extraordinarily difficult for the most experienced of athletes, but for a teenager at her first Games the duty of her care has been exposed.
"Clean athletes say year after year, competition after competition, they do not want to line up alongside those who have doped. While there is the possibility Valieva has not knowingly taken performance enhancing drugs, the point is that at the top level of sport it is the clean athlete who must be protected.
"Valieva, whether at fault or not, has returned a positive result. Most athletes at Beijing 2022 who have spoken on the matter say Valieva should have remained suspended. Witnessing the distressing scenes of a 15-year-old in floods of tears on a world stage suggests those with her duty of care in mind should have come to another conclusion."
