Kamila Valieva’s Winter Olympics Scandal

Valieva is a fifteen-year-old girl that took the ice in Beijing to showcase her talents in the sport. Her prior performances were an outstanding display of artistry, however, her celebrations quickly turned into a travesty. 

From a sample taken on December 25th, 2021 at the Russian National Championships (months before the Olympics), Valieva tested positive for Trimetazidine, a banned substance that is used to treat heart conditions and help  improve an athlete’s endurance. The court later ruled in her favor, deciding that since Valieva is a “protected person” the rules surrounding provisional suspensions don’t apply to her and said that keeping her from competing “would cause her irreparable harm.” Attorneys for Valieva say that the positive test was a result of contamination from her grandfather’s medicine. 

Sadly, this is not the first instance of competitors taking drugs while participating in the Olympics. Sha’Carri Richardson, an American track and field sprinter, won a 100-meter race in the U.S. Olympic Trials early last summer but was denied a chance to compete in the Tokyo Games after she tested positive for THC, an intoxicant in marijuana. THC is on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of prohibited substances – but so is trimetazidine, the drug that was found in Valieva’s test sample. The most significant difference between them is that Trimetazidine boosts athletic performance, while THC does not.

Immediately after the court ruling on Valieva’s eligibility at the Winter Olympics, Richardson took to Twitter to convey her thoughts. “My mother died and I can’t run and was also favored to place top 3. The only difference I see is I’m a black young lady,” she said. 

Despite everything, Valieva competed in her last competition, the women’s free skate, on Thursday. Her performance was heartbreaking and inconsistent as she struggled through her routine, falling and stumbling numerous times. In the end, Valieva placed in 4th place with her teammates finishing in first and second.

By: Pavithra Sankar 

Sources:

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/15/sport/russia-valieva-figure-skater-doping-scandal-spt-intl-hnk/index.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/12/sports/olympics/olympics-valieva-doping.html