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- Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva has been cleared to compete in the Olympics despite banned substance allegations.
- USA Olympics as a whole had quite the reaction to the decision to allow her to continue on.
- Be sure to check out more sports stories at BroBible here.
Russian Olympic athletes have been doping for decades. The country has had 46 Olympic medals stripped because of its use of banned substances and over 150 total athletes have been caught doping at the Games.
We’re talking about a country that can’t even be recognized by its own name at the Olympics due to its state-sponsored doping program. Instead of being called and recognized as ‘Russia,’ the country competes under the name ‘Russian Olympic Committee.’
Russian figure skater Kamil Valieva is the latest to allegedly test positive for a banned substance but is still being allowed to compete in the 2022 Olympics. Given Russia’s history with doping, the United States and other countries are furious over this decision.
United States Olympic & Paralympic CEO Sarah Hirshland released a statement calling out the Russians as repeat offenders.
“Athletes have the right to know they are competing on a level playing field. Unfortunately, today that is being denied. This appears to be another chapter in the systematic and pervasive disregard for clean sport by Russia,” Hirshland said, according to the New York Post.
United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart took a shot of his own, saying that “Russia has hijacked the competition and stolen the moment from clean athletes and the public.”
In all of this, it’s worth noting that Valieva is just 15-years-old, simply a teenage girl caught up in the latest doping scandal in the dope-heavy Russian Olympic history.
Both of these things can be true at the same time: it’s extremely likely (100% likely) that none of this is Valieva’s fault, but she also shouldn’t be allowed to compete.
Valieva Is The Heavy Favorite In The Individual Competition
Valieva tested positive for heart medication trimetazidine, which is listed as a banned substance, in December. According to iNews, trimetazidine works by increasing blood flow to the heart and limiting rapid swings in blood pressure.
The failed drug test was flagged six weeks after the test was originally taken, not in Beijing, but in Russia.
The ROC already won gold in the team skating event, which Valieva was a part of that team.
The Russian Anti-Doping Agency and IOC, being the totally moral governing bodies they are, enacted a temporary ban for Valieva and delayed the medal ceremony for the team event. A separate investigation will determine whether the Russians can keep the medals, according to Sky News.
Valieva is a heavy favorite in the women’s individual competition and will be allowed to compete as if nothing happened. The only punishment at the moment is that there will not be a medal ceremony if she finishes in the top three.
Separate investigations done at a later date will determine if the Russians can actually keep the medals they’ve earned in which Valieva helped the country win.
The likeliest scenario is her winning the individual competition and Russia claiming the medal despite the IOC and the rest of the world stripping the medal from the country’s history. Russia won’t mind that, however, it would be nothing new on its end.