Tutberidze: “Did anyone defend Valieva during the CAS hearings? The verdict could not have been worse.

Honored coach of Russia Eteri Tutberidze doubt that the Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva provided sufficient defense during hearings before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

On Monday, the CAS suspended figure skater Valieva for four years for violating anti-doping rules. The court release noted that the skater was unable to provide convincing evidence that the violation was unintentional. The disqualification period begins on December 25, 2021. The International Skating Union (ISU) later announced that all of the athlete’s results from the date of sample collection had been canceled. This also led to a review of the results of the 2022 Olympics team tournament, where the Russian team won. First place is now awarded to the American team, the Japanese are second and the Russians will receive bronze.

“She faced a sporting challenge that is difficult to describe in words. Regarding the verdict, I have one main question: did at least someone defend Kamila during the hearings, because the verdict could not have been worse. Kamila’s story is our pain,” Tutberidze wrote on his social media page.