WADA chief says he’s concerned about DAK RUSADA’s view of Valieva’s case

World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) President Vitold Banka has criticized the review of the figure skater’s case Kamila Valieva Anti-Doping Disciplinary Commission of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (DAK RUSADA).

— The decision (DAK RUSADA) in this case is certainly not credible. I must say that confidence in the independence of the anti-doping system in Russia remains very low. The way the case of figure skater Valieva has been viewed does not inspire optimism. Such unnecessary delays correspond to this distrust, — quotes Banka Reuters.

Valieva at the Beijing Olympics helped the Russian team win gold in team competitions. Before the personal tournament, it became known that the illegal drug trimetazidine was discovered during the doping test of the Russian championship figure skater. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) allowed the Russian to participate in the individual competitions of the Games, where she took fourth place.

On January 13, RUSADA’s anti-doping disciplinary commission concluded that although the athlete committed an anti-doping rule violation, she bears “no fault or negligence”. Valieva, 16, escaped punishment other than the cancellation of her results as of the December 25, 2021 sample date.

RUSADA, the International Skating Union (ISU) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) have appealed to CAS, WADA is demanding that the athlete be disqualified for four years.

Reuters