“I still have hope that Seppelt fights against doping, not against the unique training of Russian athletes” – Dr Shvetsky

Former doctor of the Russian figure skating team Philip Shvetsky, in a conversation with , expressed the hope that the German journalist Hajo Seppelt is really fighting against doping, and not against the unique training of Russian athletes.

Shvetsky filed a lawsuit against Zeppelt for the protection of honor, dignity and business reputation, which was accepted on July 27 and a preliminary hearing was held on August 10. The hearing in this case will take place on September 28.

In 2022, a journalist, speaking of Shvetsky, said that “a team doctor with a history of doping works for the Russian Figure Skating Federation”. Seppelt claimed that Shvetsky was involved in the scandal of the disqualification of six Russian rowers ahead of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Subsequently, Shvetsky worked with the Russian national figure skating team.

How important is it to you to win this case?

– I sincerely believe that we all have one goal: the well-deserved gold of the 2022 Olympic team tournament in Beijing, which must be defended and defended at all levels, including mine.

— Is there a dialogue between you and the journalist? How did the case progress?

– The preliminary hearing took place on August 10, and fortunately, despite the fact that the complaint was filed with the Russian court at the place of residence of the plaintiff, I did not receive any benefits. On the contrary, everything is strict, within the requirements of the relevant articles of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Of course, given my lack of legal experience, there have been comments that I must correct by September 28, including informing the complainant on the spot. I hope that the defendant is really a journalist who fights against doping, and not against the unique training system of Russian athletes which allows them to dominate in many sports.

Due to the postponement of the hearing, I had time to provide additional evidence by passing a psychophysiological polygraph study, the results of which will also be provided to the court, Shvetsky told .

Russian Kamila Valieva won the gold medal at the 2022 Olympics in the team figure skating tournament. After that, it became known that in the doping sample of a then 15-year-old athlete, taken at the Russian Championship in December, they found the banned substance trimetazidine. As a result, Valieva was allowed to participate in the personal tournament, where she was considered the favorite, and she took 4th place. Hearings in the Valieva case before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) will take place in September.