MOSCOW, February 22. /TASS/. The International Skating Union (ISU) has lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against a decision of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) Disciplinary Committee regarding figure skater Kamila Valieva, the ISU’s press office said in a statement on Wednesday.

Last month, RUSADA’s Disciplinary Committee ruled to acquit national figure skater Kamila Valieva of charges regarding alleged anti-doping regulations.

"The ISU conducted a full review of the RUSADA decision and case file has decided to lodge an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)," the statement reads. "The ISU is of the opinion that all young athletes must be protected against doping. Such protection cannot happen by exempting young athletes from sanctions."

"Within the appeal, the ISU is seeking a period of ineligibility at CAS’s own discretion, starting from 25 December 2021 and disqualification of all results achieved during this period including forfeiture of any medals, points and prizes," according to the ISU.

"Additionally, CAS is to decide the consequences of the Anti-Doping Rule Violation committed by Kamila Valieva and determine the final results of the Figure Skating Team Event at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games," the statement added.

Valieva, who is now 16 years old, was the youngest participant at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games at the age of 15. The figure skater was trained by Russia’s renowned coach Eteri Tutberidze and she is the reigning European and Russian champion. She holds World Records in the ladies singles short program (90.45 points), free skate program (185.29 points) and overall program (272.71 points).

On February 21, The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) filed an appeal with the CAS as well against RUSADA’s decision regarding Valieva stating that "WADA considers the finding by the disciplinary tribunal of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency that the athlete bore ‘no fault or negligence’ to be wrong under the terms of the World Anti-Doping Code in this case."

The world’s governing anti-doping body also stated at that time "WADA is seeking a four-year period of ineligibility and disqualification of all the athlete’s results from the date of the sample collection on 25 December 2021."

Valieva’s suspected doping case

On February 14, 2022, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) turned down an appeal filed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Skating Union (ISU) against the decision of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) to lift a temporary suspension of Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva.

The International Testing Agency announced on February 11, 2022, that Valieva’s doping sample, collected on December 25, 2021 during the Russian Figure Skating Championships in St. Petersburg, returned a positive result for a banned substance, trimetazidine. This triggered the postponement of the awards ceremony for the 2022 Olympic team competition, won by Russia.

RUSADA imposed a provisional suspension on Valieva on February 8, 2022, but the Russian athlete submitted an appeal and it was granted the following day. The previous decision on the provisional suspension was voided by the RUSADA Disciplinary Committee.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC), the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Skating Union (ISU) filed appeals against this decision but the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected them on February 14, 2022. The Russian skater was permitted to compete in the individual Olympic competition and finished fourth.