MOSCOW, November 12, Alena Sulizova. President of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) Stanislav Pozdnyakov said that from a human point of view he believes in a fair outcome in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) of the anti-doping case of the 2022 Olympic winner, figure skater Kamila Valieva, but is not sure that it can be expected from this organization.
On Friday, information was published on the CAS website that the panel of arbitrators will render a verdict in Valieva’s case in January 2024. The first hearings took place in Lausanne on September 26-28. The panel heard testimony from the parties, experts and witnesses. Following the meetings, the arbitrators decided to prepare additional documentation, which became the reason for postponing the hearings to November 9-10. On Friday, CAS announced the conclusion of the hearing.
““Here we need to separate what it means to believe. Humanly, I believe in the ideals of justice. But whether we will receive this justice from CAS is a big question,” Pozdnyakov told reporters.
Valieva passed a positive doping test on December 25, 2021, on the day of the free program of the Russian Championship. This became known on February 8, 2022 — the day after the end of the team tournament of the Olympics, where the Russian team with Valieva won.
After an investigation, the disciplinary anti-doping committee of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) found that there was no guilt or negligence and did not punish the athlete, but annulled her result at the Russian Championship. The World Anti-Doping Agency referred Valieva's case to CAS, with the International Skating Union and RUSADA joining as parties. Due to the doping case, the International Olympic Committee decided not to reward the medalists of the team figure skating tournament at the 2022 Games until a verdict is rendered.