WADA to reveal what RUSADA classified in the Valieva case

… I think many people diligently drive away the thoughts that the figure skater, deleting the gold of the national championship from her achievements, felt at that moment. The situation is such that there is no time for emotional sobs.

And what are we all up to? There was no intelligibility from the very beginning, and there is none now. On the bare fact – Camila was punished for the discovered doping (and no one cares that it is in microscopic doses) for one particular day. The day when the sample was taken – December 25, 2021, free skate program at the Russian Championships.

So, in endless questions, almost a year has passed. On February 8 (exactly the day after the end of the team tournament of the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games, in which the Russian team with Valieva, who brought two victories – which is 20 points, won gold medals) RUSADA and the athlete received the result of that positive test with traces of heart medicine . They did not learn the name right away, but now everyone knows – trimetazidine.

Many grabbed the heart. It still hurts a lot of people.

And then the world started talking about the status of a “protected person”. However, the rights of the underage athlete were violated at lightning speed in Beijing itself – the surname was announced, harassment was unavoidable. What she was, no need to tell.

As well as the fact that the awards of the Olympic team tournament have not yet been awarded. The case is, of course, unprecedented.

RUSADA was supposed to conduct an investigation within six months from the moment of informing about the violation. True, the WADA rules have the possibility of a longer period if circumstances require it. Apparently they were. Or maybe not. This is not known to us. And why the case, which required a solution in the shortest possible time, turned out to be delayed for almost a year, we, apparently, will not know either (at least not yet). But RUSADA clearly stated exactly this: we will not tell anything, we have such a right. There was a link to the WADA rules.

RUSADA completed its investigation into the Valieva case in September, after which the independent Disciplinary Anti-Doping Committee was to hold a hearing and make a decision. But in October, RUSADA just announced: everything is classified, do not wait.

And WADA, having given a couple of signals that there was no faith in Russia, already in early November also announced: the RUSADA disciplinary anti-doping committee does not want to make a decision, but we don’t want to wait, we are transferring Valieva’s case to CAS. The ping-pong of the agencies ended with the fact that the Court of Arbitration for Sport registered WADA’s appeal in the case of Valieva’s violation of anti-doping rules: RUSADA did not meet the “reasonable time” established by WADA rules when considering.

And immediately in the appeal, WADA showed that it was aggressive: it demanded that the athlete be disqualified for four years with the annulment of all results, starting from December 25. To deprive Russia of gold in team competitions at the Beijing Olympics is a matter of course.

Another couple of months passed relatively quietly, on Friday, January 13, 2023, information appeared on the website of the World Anti-Doping Agency that the RUSADA disciplinary committee had acquitted the skater. The essence of the decision of the Russian side is that Valieva violated the anti-doping rules, but she did it unintentionally, therefore there is neither her fault nor negligence. But there is trimetazidine, the result at the Russian Championship-2022 has been cancelled.

What has changed since then in the course of the case itself? So far, nothing. But now WADA is waiting for the reasoning part of the DAK decision in order to appeal against it. The message is the same – there is no faith in Russia. “Based on the details of this case already known,” the agency expresses concern about the findings of the skater’s innocence and will “exercise its right to appeal to CAS” without delay.

There is one more detail: RUSADA can also appeal against the DAK decision. This DAK, it has been said many times, is independent of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency. As lawyers specify, this is arbitration, and RUSADA and the one whose case is being considered are parties to the conflict. If someone does not agree with the decision, he protests it, in this case – in the CAS.

And, why do we need all this information, in which lawyers are strong, and no one else? And the other is not. And now we are also waiting for the motivational part. RUSADA did not want to tell anything, WADA will do this after receiving the documents. WADA says it wants to put an end to the proceedings “as soon as possible”. And here we can only agree.

What thoughts? Yes, all the same as before, there are two of them.

First. If there is any joy from the DAC’s decision, then for now it is huddled in the same nervous anticipation. Although – yes, since there is no “guilt and negligence”, it means that the reasoning part is still about a single hit of a prohibited drug in the body. But everything will be decided by CAS, as it was clear before, and no one will say when it will be. And then nothing has changed from the fact that Camila was deprived of the title of champion of Russia last year.

Second. When a house is on fire, a fire engine is called. At the Games in Beijing, the house of figure skating in Russia flared up. No one rushed to put out the flames from outside: neither the IOC, nor the ISU, nor, of course, WADA. On the contrary, the logs of accusation flew into the fire with wild and shocking speed. It was impossible to put out that fire right away – this reality must be recognized. But even then, for some reason, our fire engine was in no hurry.

Eleven months of proceedings. Scandal in the midst of the Olympics, not even the World Cup. An ice genius who managed to show himself on the ice, the persecution of a “protected person”, a torn soul, the distribution of medals hung in anticipation and three teams of athletes deprived of awards … Someone will remember a more shocking doping story in terms of the heat of passion and the involvement of participants and spectators? To match so many emotionally tearing and emasculating factors? Hence the question: why do the proceedings at the internal level look so challenging? Type: and we have nowhere to hurry. Did RUSADA have a line of such cases?

… Kamila Valieva did not pull a hood over her face at the end of the free program at the Russian Championship this season (a symbol of what she experienced in Beijing 2022). Said it was no longer needed.

WADA will try to return the hood. And not just Camille.

I would like to believe that in eleven months our specialists have prepared for new trials. None of the team of figure skaters who won in Beijing 2022 should remain an Olympic champion only in Russia.