Skating superstar at centre of doping allegation

Officials from the International Olympic Committee and doping agencies are still refusing to comment on a legal case concerning the outcome of the team figure skating competition that concluded at the Capital Indoor Arena on Monday.

The medal ceremony for the event, which was won by the team representing the Russian Olympic Committee, has been delayed. But IOC spokesman Mark Adams refused to elaborate on the reason in a media briefing on Thursday, saying only that the situation has “legal implications”.

Valieva dazzled in her Olympic debut on Sunday, coming close to eclipsing her own world record in the short program element of the team event, before becoming the first woman to land quad jumps at a Games in the free skate the following night.

The teenager has been named by Russian media as the subject of the alleged doping impropriety, with some reports saying she has tested positive for trimetazidine, which is used to treat chest pain and angina, two months ago.

The drug, which increases blood flow to the heart, was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of prohibited substances in 2014.

Chinese swimmer Sun Yang and Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare are among those who have previously been sanctioned for its use.

The issue appears to relate to a WADA ruling which considers those under 16 ‘protected persons’, meaning the usual rule of strict liability does not necessarily apply, and generally implying the athlete concerned must remain anonymous.

Both the International Skating Union and the International Testing Agency mirrored the IOC’s stance in short statements.

An ITA spokesperson said: “The ITA is aware of the various reports circulating regarding the postponed medal ceremony for the figure skating team event.

“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.”

Valieva is the latest figure skating superstar to emerge from Eteri Tutberidze’s Sambo 70 club in Moscow, which has yielded the previous two Olympic women’s champions, Adelina Sotnikova in 2014, and Alina Zagitova in 2018.

Sotnikova retired in 2020 following spinal surgery, whilst Zagitova, who audaciously fitted all her components into the second half of her programme in Pyeongchang in order to exploit an quirk of the then scoring system, decided not to defend her title citing motivational issues.

Russia was banned for state-sponsored doping in 2017, and since then athletes have had to compete as the Russian Olympic Committee. The Russian flag and Russian anthem are banned during the Beijing Games.

Given Valieva’s status as one of the bona-fide superstars of the Games, any official confirmation of a doping infraction would rank as one of its biggest controversies, eclipsing even the scoring scandal that led to two gold medals being awarded in the pairs figure skating in Salt Lake City in 2002.

Valieva is still scheduled to return to the ice next Tuesday for the short program element of the women’s singles competition. Russian men competed as expected in the men’s event on Thursday, but refused to comment on the allegations afterwards.

Iranian Alpine skier Hossein Saveh Shemshaki has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for an anabolic steroid – the first confirmed case of doping at the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

The 36-year-old was expected to compete at his third Games but returned an “adverse analytical finding”, the International Testing Agency said. Saveh Shemshaki’s sample, collected during an out-of-competition anti-doping control on Monday in Beijing, tested positive for an anabolic androgenic steroid that is on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of prohibited substances.

An ITA statement read: “The athlete has been informed of the case and has been provisionally suspended until the resolution of the matter in line with the World Anti-Doping Code and the IOC Anti-Doping Rules applicable to the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. This means that the athlete is prevented from competing, training, coaching, or participating in any activity, during the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. The athlete has the right to challenge the imposition of the provisional suspension before CAS.”