American figure skater Vincent Zhou made statements regarding the investigation into the Russian Kamila Valieva case and the results of the team tournament at the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing.
“We asked for the opportunity to observe the process but were told that the CAS court is confidential. It turned out that he was closed off even to those he would directly influence. An open and transparent hearing would greatly help athletes understand the rationale behind the decision made. Transparency will strengthen faith in the global anti-doping system.
My team still received empty boxes without medals, which means the world anti-doping system has failed.
Valieva’s positive doping test is not an isolated incident. We know that doping is common among Russian figure skaters. This is not surprising, because anti-doping issues in Russia are still handled by an organization that has failed in the past.
If the IOC, WADA and CAS had done their part and removed Russia from the world rankings, Valieva and her partners would not be in this situation. However, the lack of initiative of sports officials did not push Russia to reforms. “Russian athletes and everyone else are now bearing the consequences,” the statement said.
At the end of August, it became known that representatives of the US team were not allowed to attend the hearings at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) as observers.
Hearings in the Valieva case will be held behind closed doors in Lausanne on September 26, 27 and 28, and September 29 will be designated as an alternate day. The Russian athlete will testify via video conference. The decision will be made by three referees: Frenchman Mathieu Maisonneuve, American Jeffrey Mishkin and Great Britain’s James Drake.
A doping scandal broke out around Valieva during the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing. A banned substance was found in the sample taken by the athlete in December 2021. They wanted to disqualify him from participating in the Games. Literally a day before the start of the women’s individual competition, it was decided to admit her to the tournament.
Previously Rodnina spoke About the situation with Valieva’s doping.