The first big doping case at the Beijing Olympics involves one of its biggest stars. And it seems far from straightforward, not least because she is just 15 years old and has protections as a minor in the anti-doping rule book.
The country at the centre of it? Russia. Again.
Here’s a look at the drug that Kamila Valieva of the ROC — short for Russian Olympic Committee and the name under which the country is competing because of previous doping violations — is suspected of taking, and how the situation might play out in coming days.
What is the drug?
The medication trimetazidine is a metabolic agent that helps prevent angina attacks and treats the symptoms of vertigo, according to the European Union’s medicines agency. It can increase blood flow efficiency and improve endurance — both crucial to any high-end athletic performance.
It is on the prohibited list managed by the World Anti-Doping Agency in the category of “hormone and metabolic modulators.”
When did she test positive?
It is so far unclear when and where Valieva tested positive, and unclear which organization had responsibility for first handling the case and which WADA-accredited laboratories have been involved.
At 15, she was mostly under the radar entering this season, even as a former junior world champion.
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Valieva won a world-level event in Sochi in November and then became national champion after competing on Dec. 24-25 in St. Petersburg. At that later event, the Russian national anti-doping agency, known as RUSADA, would have had the option to test her.
In January, she won again at the European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, where the International Skating Union should have overseen collecting samples, especially from medalists.
On Jan. 27, the official Olympic period started, and the IOC had authority for the anti-doping program, which it delegates to the International Testing Agency.
Previous doping cases
The most famous case of trimetazidine in sports doping involved Chinese swimmer Sun Yang.
The three-time Olympic champion served a three-month ban in 2014 in a ruling that was initially not published by China’s anti-doping agency. WADA did not use its right to challenge that Chinese judgment with an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Because it was Sun’s first doping offense, he was punished more severely for his second, and more high-profile, offense of refusing to cooperate with a sample collections team at his home in China.
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Russian bobsledder Nadezhda Sergeeva tested positive for trimetazidine at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. She was disqualified from the two-woman bob event and served an eight-month ban.
Who will handle the case?
The athlete-testing program for the Olympics is run by the International Testing Agency, based in the IOC’s home city of Lausanne, Switzerland. The ITA also designed a pre-Olympic program of targeted testing of athletes or sports deemed high-risk or who its experts decided had undergone too few tests.
Typical doping cases during the Olympics are handled and announced by the ITA, which imposes a provisional suspension that removes an athlete from competition.
Athletes and their teams can challenge those decisions at CAS, which has representatives in Beijing to handle urgent cases. It has a Games-time panel of judges to specialize in doping cases.
Valieva’s case could involve, as reported, a sample taken before the official Olympic period began — either at an international ISU event, the national championships or during a training period in an “out of competition” test.
At the Tokyo Olympics, Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare was pulled from competing ahead of the 100-meter semifinals when a pre-Games test returned as positive. Her suspension was imposed by track and field’s Athletics Integrity Unit.
WATCH | Canada in line for medal if ROC is disqualified:
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Duration 3:56
A doping infraction by a figure skater could cost the Russians a gold medal in the team event and potentially bump the Canadians up to a bronze. Medal favourite Kamila Valieva, 15, reportedly tested positive for a banned heart medication before her arrival at the Beijing Olympics. 3:56
RUSADA would likely manage the case against Valieva if the positive sample has been taken in Russia.
The agency is trying to re-establish credibility in world sports. During ongoing fallout in the scandal of state-backed Russian doping and cover-ups, RUSADA was ruled non-compliant by WADA.
The two-year slate of sanctions imposed by CAS — including the ban on Russia’s team name, flag and anthem at the Summer Games in Tokyo and the Winter Games in Beijing — is due to expire in December. WADA could yet try to extend it.
Valieva’s case also should eventually involve the International Olympic Committee because she and the ROC team already competed and won the figure skating team event.
Stripping titles and re-allocating medals could fall to an IOC disciplinary committee chaired by Denis Oswald, a Swiss lawyer and long-time member of the Olympic body.
Age a factor
Another complicating factor is Valieva’s age, which can offer exemptions or leniency as a “protected person.”
The World Anti-Doping Code definition of a “protected person” includes athletes who have not yet turned 16 at the time of a doping violation.
The circumstances of Valieva’s case should also focus on the advice and decisions of her team officials and coaches.
An investigation of “athlete support personnel” is mandatory when a protected athlete is implicated in a doping case.
If doping is proven, a 15-year-old athlete like Valieva faces a maximum two-year ban instead of four. The minimum sanction is no ban and a reprimand “depending on the protected … athlete’s degree of fault.”
While public disclosure of cases is mandatory for adult athletes, for minors the question of identifying them “shall be proportionate to the facts and circumstances of the case.”
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
