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Russian figure skating star Valieva plans to come back to ice after suspension expires

"It would be foolish to end my sports career at such a young age. I will do my best to make the audience, myself, my coaches and all my fans happy," she said

MOSCOW, November 1. /TASS/. Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva told journalists on Friday that she intends to resume her sports career after her current suspension is over.

"Of course, I have thoughts of returning, because it's not the end for me. My last [skating] performance at the Russian championships was not my best or most successful," the 18-year-old stated.

"It would be foolish to end my sports career at such a young age. I will do my best to make the audience, myself, my coaches and all my fans happy," she said.

"I am gradually getting into my shape at the moment. I am certainly a bit nervous ahead of my performance. I am trying to confidently execute all elements, that I showed during the last season, which are the triple toe loop and double Axel," she said. "I need more self-confidence, I will try to make the [performance] content more complicated, as there are no competitions at the moment, give or take a year and a half. It means that I have to keep up with the rest of [figure skating] girls."

On January 29, 2024, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled to disqualify Russian figure skater Valieva for four years for violating anti-doping rules starting on December 25, 2021.

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.

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