The official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, expressed the opinion that the case of figure skater Kamila Valieva is an example of unscrupulous competition aimed at eliminating one of the strongest athletes. His words are quoted RIA News.
“This is another blatant example of politicization, destruction of sport, another manifestation of unscrupulous competition aimed at neutralizing one of the strongest representatives of world figure skating,” Zakharova said.
On January 29, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) suspended Kamila Valieva for four years and annulled the tournament results from December 25, 2021. For example, it became clear that it tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine after Russia’s victory in the team tournament at the 2022 Games.
On January 30, the International Skating Union (ISU) approved the new top three medalists in the team tournament at the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing. After Valieva’s results were cancelled, Russia fell from first place to third place, while gold went to the USA and silver went to Japan.
Previously at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused The USA is trying to marginalize Russian sports.