WADA issued a statement on the doping case of Russian figure skater Valieva

Cannot demand, but insists on publicity

RUSADA’s statement to close all information on the case of Kamila Valieva, made on the eve of the first official start of the strongest Russian skaters at the Grand Prix in Moscow, gave rise to a response from WADA. The International Anti-Doping Agency believes that there are good reasons for the confidentiality of such cases, but the specific proceedings have already become public, so it is appropriate to publish the findings.

Not earlier and not later, but it was on the eve of the alleged entry of Kamila Valieva on the Megasport ice to participate in the first stage of the Russian Grand Prix that a statement from the Russian Anti-Doping Agency followed. The athlete’s name has not been released, but the information does not give rise to doubt: “in order to protect the interests of an athlete, a member of the ROC team, who is a protected person, in accordance with clause 4.1 of the International Standard for Results Management, all processes and procedures related to results management, including the charge and the final decision, are confidential.”

That is, neither the date of the long-awaited hearings, nor the conclusions and final decision will be made public. RUSADA does not consider this possible, “strictly observing the principles of international and Russian anti-doping standards, and also taking into account the nature and circumstances of the case.”

It was decided to protect the “figure skater from the ROC team” in this way from excessive attention. Everything would probably be right if no one knew anything about the proceedings with a positive doping test, made public in Olympic Beijing, for the past eight months. But the “protected person” status given to athletes under the age of 16 by the time of their participation in international competitions could not protect Valieva from the dissemination of information that became the subject of a shocking story with many questions in Beijing 2022.

Many months have passed, but the scandal is now flaring up with renewed vigor. In addition to the feelings of many for the most talented athlete (or vice versa – the desire to prove that “the Russians are again defaming”), the participants in the Olympic team figure skating tournament, in which Valieva performed and helped our skaters win gold medals, have not yet been awarded. The Olympic Games are the main start of the four years, and the awards ceremony has been postponed in Beijing until the end of the trial with a positive doping test. None of the participants received a medal. And this is not even a question of three athletes on the podium, but of entire teams.

The consideration of the case is closed in order to protect the interests of the protected person. But at the same time, there is no hope at all that the decision made by the Russian side in the case will not become known due to information leaks (and the data will go to WADA, the IOC, and the ISU).

In response to the declaration of confidentiality of the case, WADA acknowledges that RUSADA has the right to suppress information on the case in accordance with the provisions of the World Anti-Doping Code. And it is not obliged to publish the details, as well as the appeals that may follow the decision. “And in the case of a case involving a protected person, there is no mandatory disclosure of information at any stage. There are very good reasons for this, ”RIA Novosti quotes the response of the WADA press service.

But, since the case has already become public, WADA will call on RUSADA to publish the results of the review. The World Anti-Doping Agency reserves the possibility to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.