The Russian antidoping company had briefly suspended Valieva after the lab in Stockholm reported the failed take a look at on Tuesday, sooner or later after the group occasion, however rapidly lifted that suspension. The Worldwide Olympic Committee is interesting that call, and the Court docket of Arbitration for Sport is predicted to expedite a listening to on the matter.
Tygart known as it “whole gross incompetence” that it took greater than a month for Valieva’s take a look at outcome to be reported by the lab and stated that the Russian antidoping company and the World Anti-Doping Company, which operates the lab in Stockholm, ought to have expedited the outcome with the Olympics approaching. It was particularly essential for them to flag the doping pattern, as a result of Russian ladies not too long ago have been so dominant in determine skating, he stated.
“It’s heartbreaking, as a result of this didn’t have to occur and shouldn’t have occurred,” Tygart stated.
The Russian Olympic Committee issued a press release defending Valieva and her participation within the Video games. The committee stated that she had handed doping exams earlier than and after Dec. 25 and on the Video games, and that the optimistic take a look at in query shouldn’t apply to her standing in Beijing.
If Valieva had been taking trimetazidine with a physician’s suggestion, she would have needed to file the paperwork for that earlier than her drug testing and her eligibility wouldn’t be in competition proper now, Tygart stated. If she had been utilizing it for performance-enhancing functions — maybe for endurance or restoration — it may have probably helped her land bounce after bounce in her bodily difficult and extremely tough routines, which she performs with ease.
In determine skating, elevated endurance would profit athletes by making it simpler to carry out a number of jumps, particularly within the second half of their routines. As much as three jumps carried out within the second half are given a ten % bonus.
Antidoping authorities are more likely to look into how the drug bought into Valieva’s system within the first place, significantly as a result of she is a minor. Coaches or others in her entourage discovered giving her a banned drug may face penalties below antidoping guidelines.
Additionally, anybody concerned in a conspiracy to dope athletes or a doping scheme may very well be criminally prosecuted in the USA, in response to a 2019 regulation put into place due to Russia’s state-sponsored doping on the 2014 Winter Video games.