When exactly two months remained before the start of the hearings on the case of Kamila Valieva in CAS, the Nikulinsky Court of Moscow accepted for consideration the claim of one of the medical specialists who worked with the figure skater, Philip Shvetsky, against Hajo Seppelt, a German journalist who made several films about doping in Russia. His authorship, among other things, belongs to the story about the doping scandal around Valieva at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, in which Shvetsky is repeatedly mentioned.
It is worth recalling that at the end of October last year, as Renat Laishev, the president of the Sambo-70 sports and education center, said at the time, Shvetsky stopped working with Eteri Tutberidze's group, in which Valieva trains, and this decision was not connected with what happened at the Olympics. Shvetsky himself then declared that he was a doctor of the Russian national team, and not of some separate school, and he accompanies athletes both from Khrustalny and from groups of «other wonderful coaches.» Currently, Philip Shvetsky is listed as a «specialist of the sports team of the Russian Federation» in the list of the Russian national figure skating team, published on the website of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation.
At least from this fact, it follows that the Russian sports leadership has no claims against Shvetsky regarding his participation in the Valieva case. As, probably, there are no complaints about the rest of the specialists, coaches and doctors who had to do with working with the figure skater. At least, none of them were reported to be removed from their professional activities.Meanwhile, every mention of Valieva in the media continues to be accompanied by offensive comments from readers who are quick to label. And, oddly enough, they can be understood — there is the fact of the discovery of doping in her body, but there are no clear explanations either from Camila or from her entourage. Although it is she who should give these explanations, and not only (and not even so much) Valieva herself, and we have already written about this more than once. Apparently, it is worth recalling once again why.
Valieva was 15 years old at the time of the anti-doping rule violation. In accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code, the skater is a «protected person». This means softening the standard anti-doping rules in relation to her, in particular the thesis «the athlete is responsible for the contents of his doping test.» Particular attention in such cases is paid to the actions of the athlete's environment — coaches, doctors, parents. And the role of the environment is not just to suggest what not to do, but not to allow anti-doping rule violations, since a minor athlete may not be aware of responsibility for his actions. It goes without saying that the environment should not encourage a minor to violate the anti-doping code.Not to mention the fact that I would look at that Russian figure skater, adult or not, who would take something without the consent of the coaching staff and doctors. It is, of course, possible to assume that Valieva was such a brilliant child at the age of 15 that she bought drugs and nutritional supplements for herself in the store. But this version is simply ridiculous for anyone who has even the slightest idea of how Russian figure skating works. I would like to hope that CAS will not believe this either.
In no event shall any athlete, whether of age or not, be held liable under the Anti-Doping Code if a prohibited substance is found in his possession. And this has to be read, alas, regularly — and not only in the comments of readers who do not know the topic, but also those who should understand the issue or, at least, select the correct wording. In a number of cases, athletes were acquitted after a positive doping test — that is, they did not find any fault in their actions. The last and very loud one happened to the athlete Sergei Shubenkov, he was found to have a prohibited drug, which, as he was able to prove, accidentally entered the body in the form of crumbs from pills prescribed to his son. As a result — a verdict of «no fault or negligence».
It was this verdict that was issued against Valieva by the Disciplinary Anti-Doping Committee of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA). However, this verdict was delayed for so long that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) managed to exercise its right and send the case for direct trial to CAS, which was joined by the International Skating Union (ISU). And then, quite unexpectedly, the DAK decision to acquit the figure skater was protested in Lausanne by RUSADA itself.
«
“Having studied the motives for the decision, RUSADA believes that the athlete’s side was unable to prove, at the level established by the rules, the complete absence of her guilt. it could be a warning,» RUSADA accompanied its protest with such a statement.
But, as before, there is no word on how this guilt is formulated. And even more so about the role of Valieva's entourage in the case, although this is the most important issue. However, everyone is silent about this, including WADA, which demands the maximum punishment for Camila, but is silent about sanctions against other persons involved in the case. Although immediately after the Olympics, the World Anti-Doping Agency was eager to investigate their actions.To be honest, all of the above brings up one very unpleasant thought — they are going to expose … Valieva herself as the one responsible for the Valieva case. Play some sort of deal. Ask Camila to keep quiet and not say too much — which she does without giving out any interviews, although I'm sure she could tell a lot. And in return, hope that CAS will take pity and forgive the young athlete, and at the same time will not touch the elders. Of course, these are only subjective feelings, but it is very difficult to get rid of them in the light of the current situation around the case of the Olympic champion.
But there is little hope for unrequited pity for Valieva from the Court of Arbitration for Sport. There are a lot of pressures — both the Western media, and, alas, Camila's colleagues — American figure skaters, at every opportunity reminding of their empty cases from Olympic medals. Although they are exactly the same empty both for the Japanese and, what can we say, for the rest of the Olympic champions from the Russian team. In addition, once CAS already entered Camila's situation — last year in Beijing, when he allowed her to go to the start of the individual competitions of the Olympics. But «grandfather's glass» helped there — a version that many later laughed at. In order for the court to make a decision in her favor a second time, clear explanations of what happened are needed. It is still possible to save Valieva and save her for the future of Russian figure skating. But this requires the truth and only the truth.