MOSCOW, January 31. /TASS/. The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) does not have the authority to probe into the possible involvement of Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva’s entourage in her doping case, RUSADA Director General Veronika Loginova told TASS on Wednesday.
"We have investigated the athlete's entourage within the authority that RUSADA possesses in line with Russian law and the regulations of the World Anti-Doping Agency [WADA]," Loginova said. "We believe that the authority of anti-doping organizations is not always sufficient to prove the involvement of an athlete's entourage in doping cases."
"RUSADA has no power of law enforcement bodies to resort to operative investigative measures. We have repeatedly stated this," she continued. "Unfortunately, in most cases our investigative activities are limited to voluntary participation and subsequent analysis of the gathered information."
Loginova also said that Russia’s governing anti-doping body was ready for full-fledged cooperation with WADA after CAS publishes its detailed verdict regarding Valieva’s doping case.
"WADA stated that the investigation could be resumed after the agency studied the reasoned text of the CAS verdict," the RUSADA chief said. "We are ready to provide them with all the necessary assistance within the framework of our authority and powers."
"There were no claims whatsoever in regard to the probe previously handled by RUSADA, everything was done in accordance with WADA recommendations as well as in line with the best practices of [the world’s] leading anti-doping organizations," she added.
On January 29, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled to disqualify Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva for four years for violating anti-doping rules starting on December 25, 2021. "All competitive results of Ms. Valieva from December 25, 2021 are disqualified, with all the resulting consequences," the CAS press service said in a statement.
The International Skating Union (ISU) decided on Tuesday to strip Russia of its gold medal at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing in the team figure skating event by taking away some of the team’s previously earned points and subsequently awarding it the bronze medal.
The world’s governing skating body ruled on Tuesday to hold back 20 out of 74 points earned by Russian figure skaters in the team event after Valieva’s suspension, thereby putting Russia in 3rd place with 54 points, Team USA in 1st place (65 points) and Japan in second (63 points).
Valieva’s 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.