WADA seeks 4-year doping ban for Russia skater Valieva in appeal to sports court | CBC Sports

The World Anti-Doping Agency has appealed Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva’s doping case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and said Tuesday it is seeking a four-year ban.

WADA is objecting to a finding by a Russian tribunal that Valieva bore “no fault or negligence” in the case, which overshadowed last year’s Beijing Olympics. WADA wants a four-year ban and for Valieva’s results to be disqualified from the date she gave the sample, Dec. 25, 2021. That would include the Olympics.

WADA was “concerned” the Russian panel ruled Valieva should be disqualified from only one day of the 2021 Russian championships, where the sample was taken.

“The tribunal found that although the athlete had committed an Anti-Doping Rule Violation, she bore ‘no fault or negligence’ for it. As such, the tribunal imposed no sanction except for the disqualification of her results on the date of the sample collection,” WADA said in a January statement.

The Russian skater, who was then 15, won Olympic gold in the team competition before it was announced a sample she gave two months before tested positive for a banned substance. The result was reported later because the laboratory which tested the sample was affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

WADA previously complained Russia was taking too long to reach a decision in Valieva’s case and sought to have it moved to the CAS.

“Based on the elements of the case with which WADA is already familiar, the agency is concerned by the finding of ‘no fault or negligence’ and will not hesitate to exercise its right of appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, as appropriate,” WADA said.

Depending on the eventual result of the appeal, the case could result in Canada being bumped from fourth place to bronze in the team event, while the United States could be upgraded from silver to gold.

No medal ceremony has taken place for the team competition because of the uncertainty.

CAS typically takes months to process cases. A previous CAS panel of judges allowed Valieva to compete in the women’s individual event at the Beijing Games even under suspicion of doping, in part because of her age. She placed fourth in the women’s competition as another Russian, Anna Shcherbakova, won the gold.

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