Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva was disqualified from the 2022 Olympics on Monday, almost two years after her doping case caused turmoil at the Beijing Games.
The verdict from the Court of Arbitration for Sport means the Russians are set to be stripped of the gold medal in figure skating’s team event. The United States finished second and is set to be named Olympic champion instead.
The International Olympic Committee decided not to present any medals for the event in Beijing, where the 15-year-old Valieva was the star performer hours before her positive test for a banned heart medicine was revealed.
CAS said it upheld appeals led by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which asked the court to disqualify Valieva from the Olympics and ban her. A Russian sports tribunal had cleared her of any blame.
I see you’ve spawned a heated argument. I know this post is old but I have a different take:
Don’t ban Russia. It’s just athletics, it’s not that big of a deal. All athletes should get the chance to compete even if they live in countries that encourage their cheating. Ban the cheaters and their coaches when they are exposed.
Perhaps ask Russia to pay a fine if they wish to continue to send athletes. This would dissuade them from forcing their young adults to alter their body chemistry.
The Olympics is supposed to be somewhere every country can participate.
Yes that’s the line the Olympic committee always trot out as well when anybody is ever asking them to make a decision on anything. They always argue that the Olympics is not political, but refusing to take a political stance is itself a political stance.
Continuing to allow Russia to compete even when they cheat constantly (because it is basically all the time it’s not one or two athletes it’s basically everyone they send) is itself saying that cheating is acceptable if you get away with it. It’s like the cost of doing business for Russia.