Kamila Valieva will decide for herself at the autumn hearings in CAS: to be or not to be

Now, at least the deadlines are known, although there is no less anxiety. Hearings on three appeals at once (RUSADA, ISU and WADA) against the decision of the RUSADA Disciplinary Anti-Doping Committee in the case of Kamila Valieva, as reported by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, will be held in September. Will be closed for four days. Guilty or not? The second is happiness. But, if the first assumption suddenly turns out, then what punishment will follow? Will the status of a “protected person” work at least somehow?

… Sometimes I think about what would happen if such a trial happened with an American figure skater who was under 16 years old at the time of the violation? As if in the USA they protected and kept devotion to the one who was carried in her arms and predicted to become a champion. As if different people were shutting their mouths… As if they were calling to account those who violated the rights of this very “protected person”. And would the case drag on for such a period?

But these are questions that no one will answer, and even if you can find approximate examples, then tracing paper is not an option. Everything is very individual. And only one thing is certain: it is insanely painful. For Camila and her fans – of course. For those who have not yet received Olympic medals – too. And it’s not just our team.

Here, again, the American figure skater Vincent Zhou could not stand it. I choose only the specifics from the words: “500 days have passed since the award ceremony of the figure skating team tournament at the 2022 Winter Olympics was supposed to take place – and we are still waiting.” He called on the IOC, RUSADA, WADA to do everything to contribute to “a proper decision following the results of the hearings in the Court of Arbitration for Sport on September 26-29.”

True, he sees the proper decision in his light, not ours. Therefore, he called on the International Skating Union, the teams of Japan (third place) and Canada (fourth) to publicly identify, together with the Americans, a position in defense of clean sports and fair results. “So that clean athletes are not punished for the misdeeds of athletes involved in doping.” He divided the skaters into clean and criminal.

Zhou also said that the American team donated empty Olympic medal cases to the museum. The photo of the team with these boxes in their hands also hits the emotions.

It’s a shame. And to them, that one hundred percent is fair. And for us. But – differently. We want one outcome of the case, we believe that there will be justification. And many of them, from the first days after the news of a positive test, decided everything for themselves back there, in Beijing-2022. And the verdict was passed. Therefore, it is considered senseless and shameful to wait a year and a half for its implementation.

However, we can also utter some of the words spoken by the same Americans. “When you think about it, it’s hard to keep from feeling sad about the whole situation and how long the case has been going on,” said Madison Chalk, dancing with Evan Bates. The partner continued the thought: “You want to cross the finish line and get a reward for the race, for what you have achieved at this moment. An exclamation mark should not be placed after ten sentences or in the next paragraph.

The announcement of the scheduled dates for the hearing states that they will take place, as expected, at the CAS headquarters in Lausanne. Arbitrators may hear certain parties, witnesses and experts via videoconference. Then CAS will hold a discussion, prepare an arbitral award. So the “exclamation mark” that has gone on a spree somewhere is already close.

The arbitrators for the consideration of the case have already been selected (there are three of them, one from the plaintiff, one from the defense, the head of the commission is appointed by CAS). But there are no arbitrators for us yet: the names have not been named and will not be named, apparently, until the end of the case. The Court considers that it would be more reasonable “to protect the integrity of the proceedings”.

“At the moment it is impossible to say when the final verdict will be announced.” It is quite possible that the end of the painful story will come before the end of the year. The resonance of the case is already such that waiting for more is just on the verge of madness.

But the CAS decision will be final and binding, except for the parties’ right to appeal within 30 days “on limited procedural grounds.” And these grounds do not concern the decision itself, but the violations committed during the trial.

Will Camila herself be at the hearing, or are the rules allowing her not to attend? Sports lawyers suggest that someone who will be issued a power of attorney can represent the interests of Valieva. But the figure skater can choose the form of her participation herself. So it’s up to Camila to decide whether or not to be her personally, even by video link. Although participation, of course, is preferable.

The IOC commented on the scheduled dates for the hearing of the case, which is most directly related to the organization, as follows: we continue to monitor the development of events and now we are “one step closer” to the final decision that the athletes are waiting for. “Only the completion of the case will allow the International Skating Union to determine the final results of the team figure skating competitions at these Games, and the IOC to decide on the distribution of medals.”