(Reuters) – The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) will not release the results of the investigation into the positive test of Olympic figure skater Kamila Valieva “in order to protect the interests of the figure skater,” the agency said on Friday.
Valieva tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine at the Russian national championships in December 2021 and the result was known on Feb. 8, a day after she helped her team win a gold medal at the Beijing Winter Olympics.
The figure skater, then 15, was allowed to compete in the single event and finished fourth despite being labelled as the favourite for gold.
“All processes and procedures related to the Results Management, including the charge and the final resolution of the matter, are confidential,” the agency said in a statement.
“Strictly following the principles of international and Russian anti-doping standards, as well as taking into account the facts and circumstances of the case, RUSADA does not intend to announce the date of the hearings, the decision or other details in the case of the figure skater – a member of the ROC team.”
Valieva said in her defence that the positive test was the result of a mix-up with her grandfather’s heart medication. In September the Russian agency confirmed that the investigation was reaching “the final stage”.
(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in Mexico City; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
