BEIJING — Thirty competitors are taking to the ice Tuesday evening in Beijing for the women’s figure skating short program.
Among them is Russian Kamila Valieva, 15, whose positive test for a banned drug threw the Olympics in disarray. Valieva tested positive for a heart drug called trimetazidine, which can boost athletes’ endurance and blood efficiency. She provided a sample last December but the positive result wasn’t revealed until last week – after she helped propel the Russian team to a gold medal in the team competition.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled on Monday that Valieva should be allowed to keep competing at the Olympics. “Preventing the athlete to compete at the Olympic Games would cause her irreparable harm in these circumstances,” said CAS director general Matthieu Reeb at a press conference, noting that her young age made the case particularly sensitive. Under the World Anti-Doping Code, she is considered a ‘protected person’.
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