- Russian skater claims strawberry dessert could be behind failed drug test
- Kamila Valieva said her grandfather accidentally dropped a pill in her dessert
- A court rejected the strange explanation and suspended her for four years.
Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva claimed a strawberry dessert could have been behind her failed drug test at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, after alleging her grandfather’s heart medication may have been thrown into it.
The Arbitration Court (CAS) rejected the bizarre explanation after publishing a 129-page ruling to explain its verdict as it upheld the four-year ban imposed on Valieva last week.
Valieva‘s Doping case at age 15 surprised 2022 Beijing Olympic Games, having helped Russia win the team competition at the Games two years ago, becoming the first woman in Olympic history to perform a quadruple jump.
However, just hours later, it emerged that he had tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ), a banned heart medication, in December 2021, and no medals were awarded, so his result is now disqualified.
After the Russian Anti-Doping Agency cleared Valieva in an investigation, the CAS challenged the decision and found her guilty of a violation last month.
Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva claimed her failed drug test could have been caused by a strawberry dessert
The word “strawberry” was used 43 times. The judges’ 129-page ruling details why they rejected the argument.
The word “strawberry” appears 43 times in the document detailing why the judges rejected the argument.
Valieva’s lawyers claimed that her grandfather may have “accidentally dropped a pill” into the dessert he was making and also alleged that there may have been crushed residue from a (trimetazidine) pill on the cutting board he used.
“There are too many deficiencies in the evidence and too many unanswered questions for the panel to decide that his account is most likely true,” the judges wrote.
Valieva tested positive for the banned heart drug in a sample given at the Russian championships in December 2011, but the results were not sent back from the Swedish laboratory until six weeks later, midway through the competition.
Valieva pictured with Russian President Vladimir Putin at an awards ceremony for the 2022 Games
Valieva, who won gold at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, tested positive for the banned heart drug in a sample administered at the Russian championships in December 2021.
Athletes can avoid punishment for testing positive if they can prove they were not at fault for taking the substance in question.
“There is no other evidence, beyond his own statement, that he can provide in connection with this claim,” the ruling states. “Nor is there any other evidence – beyond his own statement – that he was using TMZ at the time.”
CAS judges upheld an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency seeking a four-year suspension and disqualification of her results after a Russian court cleared Valieva of guilt.
The Russian team was stripped of its Olympic title by the International Skating Union, which declared the United States champions. Japan moved from bronze to silver and the Russians were demoted to bronze after Valieva’s scores were removed.