Valieva’s grandfather drove two hours a day to take her to training 200 m from her home – ISU testimony in CAS

International Skating Union (ISU) during the hearing Kamila Valieva at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) cited as an argument in favor of the fact that the figure skater had intentionally taken a prohibited drug, the fact that her grandfather Gennady Soloviev had driven a long distance to take the athlete to the training at the ice palace in the immediate vicinity of his home.

This is stated in the explanatory memorandum of the decision in the Valieva case, published on the court’s website. At the end of January, the CAS suspended Valieva for four years for violating anti-doping rules. The 17-year-old Russian’s suspension period begins on December 25, 2021, and her results have been canceled since that date. The athlete’s sample contained banned trimetazidine.

According to Valieva, the banned drug could have entered her system with the dessert Soloviev had prepared for her. Due to his busy work schedule, the athlete’s mother asked Solovyov to accompany Kamila to the Ice Palace for training to ensure safety (so that no one would know her home address) .

The ISU, arguing that it is “more likely” that Valieva intentionally took trimetazidine, states the following:

— the athlete took hypoxen and L-carnitine, there is expert evidence that trimetazidine has a synergistic effect with these substances;

– despite the fact that he had a weak heart and suffered four heart attacks, Solovyov drove two hours a day to take the athlete to the Ice Palace, located 200 meters from his house;

– the athlete did not provide any evidence that his mother’s work interfered with the figure skater’s cooking;

— Soloviev said he had to take medication because of poor eyesight, but in two video recordings of his testimony he did not wear glasses;

— no medical records were provided regarding Solovyov’s heart condition between 2008 and the undated medical record after the Beijing Olympics.

The CAS decision led to a review of the results of the team figure skating tournament at the 2022 Olympics, where the Russian team won. First place is now awarded to the American team, the Japanese are second, the Russians will receive bronze. Valieva is also deprived of gold at the 2022 European Championship.