Russian champion in figure skating among juniors – 2008 Katarina Gerboldt evaluated the readiness of Olympic champion Kamila Valieva in the team competition to perform at the fourth stage of the Russian Grand Prix in Kazan, which will be the athlete’s first start of the season. In a statement to socialbites.ca, Gerboldt stated that Valieva would not have entered the tournament if she was not ready.
“I can’t say how prepared he is, it’s more a question for his coaching staff. But since he’s going to go on stage, he’s pretty well prepared. Otherwise, I don’t think he’ll take part in the competition at all. I think it’ll be an interesting start, something to watch and follow.” says Herboldt.
Meanwhile, Valieva’s case continues in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). A scandal involving a figure skater at the Beijing Olympics broke out when it was announced that traces of the banned drug trimetazidine had been detected in a doping test after she won the team competition. Despite this, she was allowed to compete in the individual championships, where she finished fourth.
The first hearing was held in September, but the court postponed the case to November for the preparation of additional documents. The trial will continue on 9 and 10 November. If Valieva is found guilty of violating anti-doping rules, the Russian team could lose its Olympic team gold medal. The awards have not yet been awarded due to the open doping case.
existed before named Strengths of Valieva’s rivals at the Russian Grand Prix stage in Kazan.