Olympic champion in speed skating, State Duma deputy Svetlana Zhurova talked about how a banned substance could have entered the body of figure skater Kamila Valieva. In a conversation with socialbites.ca, Zhurova, commenting on the words of Olivier Niggli, Director General of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), that Valieva was “sacrificed” to protect those who allegedly doped her, noted that the athlete’s entourage may not do this. know how.
“It seems that Camila herself and her circle do not understand how this happened. And when there is no certainty, legends are born. There’s no use in investigating because anything can happen. From “planting” to the carelessness of relatives.
My son is an athlete, a compiler. I have experienced all this, no matter how many comments I make, I know such situations better than anyone else. And somehow I caught myself doing it. But for example, I have medications, I take them according to the prescription. Of course, they contain prohibited ingredients. During a difficult period, I took an increasing dose and cut the tablets in half with a knife on a cutting board. Sometimes I forgot to wash the board and rushed to work. Then my son cut the bread on the same board.
After all these events, I realized how careless I was – what can we say about ordinary parents? Kamila’s example needs to be promoted as much as possible so that the parents of athletes are extremely careful about such moments. Do you know how scared I was when I realized what I’d done? If five to ten years ago my explanation would have satisfied everyone, now it would hardly be possible,” Zhurova said.
On January 29, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) found Valieva guilty of doping and disqualified the athlete. He will not be able to compete in tournaments until December 2025. He also can’t practice at state skating rinks.
On February 7, CAS issued a rationale for Valieva’s case. In addition to the banned trimetazidine, three permitted substances were found in the skater’s blood. These are ecdysterone, hypoxene and L-carnitine. According to the CAS document, the Russian woman took approximately 60 medications and supplements between 2020-2021.
The Russian athlete was stripped of his gold medal at the 2022 European Championships and the Olympic Games in Beijing, as well as the title of Russian champion.
Previously Zhurova in the name WADA Director General Niggli’s words accepting Valieva’s innocence.