Valieva said she never consciously doped

Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva said she never knowingly took illegal drugs.

At the end of January, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) suspended Valieva for four years for violating anti-doping rules. Trimetazidine was detected in the athlete’s doping sample taken during the Russian Championships in December 2021. The 17-year-old Russian’s suspension period begins on December 25, 2021, and her results have been canceled since that date . The court’s 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 and the Russians will receive bronze. Valieva is also deprived of gold at the 2022 European Championship.

— For my part, I can say that I did not take doping consciously, I tried to follow the rules as much as possible, we are taking (anti-doping) courses from RUSADA. I was going to the Olympics and thought it would be a wonderful celebration of sport. What you have worked so long for, you have dreamed of for a long time. I arrived and, unfortunately, I received different emotions and a different attitude,” Valieva said in an interview with NHK.