7 Days of Silence From ISU Continues to Haunt Kamila Valieva Doping Case

The world of figure skating is witnessing a stupefying case that has created a lot of setbacks for the 17-year-old skater. The scarcity of this case has kept growing, but now the weight of silence is getting heavier day by day. With each passing day, the doping case of Kamila Valieva is only serving the fans to intensify the speculation and scrutiny surrounding this controversy.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) dealt a blow on January 29, 2024. They imposed a four-year ban on Kamila Valieva. Even after securing a gold medal at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, the Russian skater was struck by a shockwave with the decision. The International Skating Union (ISU) remained quiet on Valieva’s matter, which caught the attention of the USA Today columnist.

ISU’s silence speaks volumes

The delicate task of reordering the team skating medal has been allotted to the ISU. The aftermath conducted a redistribution in which the United States secured gold and silver in the hands of Japan and Russia, which were relegated to bronze. A prominent sports reporter for USA Today shed light on Valieva’s case. Previously, she tweeted about an error that was made, and now she chimed again with her concern about ISU’s silence. Her tweet says, “We’ve reached a full week now with no word from the ISU on its math, what rule it used, etc.”

She raised a concern about the lack of communication from the ISU regarding the decision-making process. Despite taking a full week since the conclusion of the Winter Olympics, ISU remained conspicuous about providing clarity about the outcome. The decision to strip Russia of its medal by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) added fuel to the firing situation of Valieva.

The ongoing mystery surrounding Kamila Valieva’s doping allegations

The complexity has continued to loom larger, which has also raised questions about fairness in sports. According to Brennan, Skate Canada has raised concerns focusing on the ISU’s decision-making procedure; they even cited a specific rule (Rule 353(4)(a)) that says disqualified competitors must fulfill their placements with the other candidates.

Also read: Days After Doping Ban, Kamila Valieva Breaks Silence

Travis Tygart, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, shared his share of support for the application of discipline and specific rules and believes that it is not fair for Russia to retain the bronze medal under the circumstances surrounding Valieva’s case. However, Russia contested this perspective and put forth the argument that the results of the competition shouldn’t be hampered and should remain unchanged. As a response, the IOC withheld the medal pending resolution of the Valieva case. But the uncertainty remains the same, leaving the stakeholders—athletes and fans—in a state of limbo.

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