Russian skater Kamila Valieva floors IOC, WADA and ISU at CAS hearing

LAUSANNE – Russian skater, Kamila Valieva has defeated the International Olympic Committee, IOC, World Anti-Doping Agency, WADA and the International Skating Union, ISU in the appeal they  all filed against the athlete at the Court  of Arbitration for Sports, CAS.

The three international organisations, IOC, WADA and ISU had objected to the decision of the Russian Disciplinary Anti-Doping Committee of February  09, 2022, in which the provisional suspension imposed on Kamila Valieva, following the detection of banned substance trimetazidine in a sample provided by her was lifted and in the process allowing her to participate  in the Olympic Winter Games, Beigjing 2022.

In their decision, the Panel composed of Mr. Fabio Ludica(Italy) President,  Mr. Jeffery Benz, United States of America and Dr. Vesna Bergant Rakocevic, Slovenia, all arbitrators affirmed that the jurisdiction of CAS Adhoc Committee in this matter has overruled  the preliminary objection raised by the athlete and ROC in this regard,  and decided that no provision suspension be imposed on the athlete for a number of reasons

“A, that the athlete is a protected person under the World Anti-Doping Code and that RUSADA Anti-Doping rules and WADC are silent with respect to the provisional suspension imposed on protected persons and that the rules have specific  provisions for different  standards of evidence for lower sanctions in the case of protected persons.

The committee was also of the view that the Panel considered  fundamental principles of fairness, proportionality and irreparable harm and the relative balance of  interests as between the applicants and the athlete who did not test positive  during the Olympic Games in Beijing and  is still subject to a disciplinary procedure on the merits, following  the positive Anti-doping test taking in December 2021 and in particular, the Panel  considered that preventing the athlete from competing at the Olympic games would cause her irreparable harm.

The Panel also noted that there were serious issues of untimely notification of the results of the athlete’s anti-Doping test that was performed in December 2021, which impinged upon the athlete’s ability to establish certain legal requirements for her benefit,  and that the late notification was not her fault in the middle of the Olympic Winter Games, Beijing 2022.