On 25 December 2021, Valieva submitted a routine urine sample for analysis following her win at the Russian Nationals on 24 December. The normal 20-day testing time for the sample lapsed, apparently due to
COVID-19 related backlogs at the testing laboratory; however, the positive
doping test results were eventually forwarded for evaluation in February 2022, after the Beijing Olympics had started and the
team event had concluded. On 14 November 2022, the
Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) registered an appeal by the
World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) about a possible violation of anti-doping rules by Valieva.
During Beijing Olympics The medal ceremony for the team event, in which the ROC won gold, was originally scheduled for 8 February but was delayed over what
International Olympic Committee (IOC) spokesperson Mark Adams described as a situation that required "legal consultation" with the
International Skating Union (ISU). Several media outlets reported on 9 February that the issue was a positive test by Valieva for the banned substance
trimetazidine, The sample in question was taken by the
Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) at the
2022 Russian Figure Skating Championships on 25 December 2021. On 8 February, the urine sample tested positive for traces of trimetazidine. The sample was analyzed at the Doping Control Laboratory at Stockholm's
Karolinska University Hospital, a WADA-accredited lab. The test result came one day after the team event concluded. Valieva was given a provisional suspension after her positive result, but was cleared on appeal by RUSADA's independent Disciplinary Anti-Doping Committee (DAC) on 9 February, just a day later. Due to Valieva being a minor at the time and thus classified as a "protected person" under WADA guidelines, RUSADA and the IOC announced on 12 February that they would broaden the scope of their respective investigations to include members of her entourage, such as coaches and team doctors. Following formal appeals lodged by the IOC, the ISU, and WADA to review RUSADA DAC's decision, the
Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) heard the case on 13 February, ahead of her scheduled appearance in the women's singles event beginning 15 February. On 13 February, Valieva's mother testified at the CAS hearing that Valieva took hypoxen for heart "variations". On 14 February, the CAS declined to reinstate Valieva's provisional suspension and ruled that she would be allowed to compete in the women's singles event. The CAS decided that preventing her from competing "would cause her irreparable harm in the circumstances" while noting that any medals won by Valieva at the Beijing Olympics would be withheld pending the results of the continuing investigation into her doping violation. The accommodating decision from the court, subject to further and ongoing investigation, was made on three grounds: due to her age, she was a "protected person" per WADA code, subject to different rules than adult athletes; she "did not test positive during the Olympic Games in Beijing"; and "There were serious issues of untimely notification of the results ... which impinged upon the Athlete's ability to establish certain legal requirements for her benefit". The IOC announced that the medal ceremony for the team event would not take place until the investigation concluded as there is a concrete decision whether to strip Valieva and the ROC of their medals.
US Olympic Committee CEO
Sarah Hirshland said: "We are disappointed by the message this sends. This appears to be another chapter in the systemic and pervasive disregard for clean sport by Russia." On 15 February, after placing first in the
women's short program, Valieva was reported by
The New York Times to have also tested positive for two other drugs that are not banned from competition,
hypoxen and
L-carnitine, from her 25 December urine sample. The combination of these drugs with trimetazidine was described as a "trifecta of substances" which "seem to be aimed at increasing endurance, reducing fatigue and promoting greater efficiency in using oxygen" by
Travis Tygart, chief executive of the
United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). At the time of the doping test, Valieva had declared taking hypoxen and L-carnitine, both of which are used in Russia supposedly to treat heart conditions or enhance athletic performance. According to
The New York Times, neither agent is backed by scientific evidence of efficacy in improving cardiovascular function in athletes. In a press conference, the day after the free skate, IOC president
Thomas Bach said he was "very, very disturbed" by the "chilling atmosphere" surrounding Valieva during the free skate as coach
Eteri Tutberidze berated her following a mistake-filled performance that dropped her off the podium. Bach also insinuated that her coaches likely played a role in her positive test. President
Vladimir Putin's
spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called Bach's comments "deeply inappropriate", stating that "the harshness of a coach in high-level sport is key for their athletes to achieve victories." IOC President Bach later added that "doping is very rarely done alone with the athletes" and that the "ones who have administered this drug in her body, these are the ones who are guilty." WADA also filed an interim brief indicating that Valieva's acknowledgment of taking the two permitted substances,
Hypoxen and
L-carnitine, could be read as undercutting her testimony that the banned substance, trimetazidine, was ingested by error. However, Valieva's eligibility has since been rescinded by the ISU, although for an unrelated reason, as all Russian and Belarusian skaters were banned due to the ongoing
Russian invasion of Ukraine.
After Beijing Olympics By 9 March 2022,
Travis Tygart of the
USADA reported that Valieva had not requested that her "B" sample be tested, apparently accepting the results of initial testing and relying on her explanation that the banned substance TMZ belonged to her grandfather and only accidentally contaminated or became mixed into her own use of allowed nutrients and supplements. Tygart further stated that as a minor, Valieva could still be either fully exculpated or given a warning concerning her testing positive, depending on the extent of findings in the ongoing
RUSADA investigation of doping. According to Tygart, an adverse finding against her as a first offense could still be assessed as a two-year suspension, which is half of the suspension time which could be assessed for adults. On 17 March, WADA requested that RUSADA complete its report on Valieva and her entourage by 8 August 2022. On 7 June 2022, ISU regulation governing the minimum age for competition at figure skating events was raised from 15 to 17 years of age following the Valieva incident at the Beijing Olympics. On 8 August,
insidethegames wrote that the six-month report originally expected on 8 August would be allowed some extra time because further data was requested by RUSADA in July in order to complete its report stating that: "WADA President
Witold Bańka recently told
insidethegames that he expects a hearing will be held by RUSADA 'quite soon', and that the organization will 'monitor it'." On 15 September, Christine Brennan writing for USA Today indicated that RUSADA had completed their report and delivered it for evaluation and subsequent scheduling of official hearings concerning the investigation of Valieva's possible misconduct regarding the use of banned substances during competition. Brennan further quoted U.S. Anti-Doping CEO Travis Tygart stating that: "Given it appears that RUSADA's investigation is over and the case is now headed to court, they must have found sufficient evidence of a violation or otherwise the case would be closed, and WADA would be notified of its right to appeal." A disciplinary hearing reviewing the Rusada investigation results is presently planned to take place in late September or early October. Travis Tygart, the CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency stated that, "If she is exonerated, there is nothing to hide and it should be made public... Certainly, keeping the decision and facts secret make a mockery of the whole process, and there is no wonder athletes and the public do not trust the global WADA anti-doping system... Short of this... it's impossible for athletes or the public to believe what happened at the 2022 Beijing Games was real and not just another fraudulent win by the Russians like so many before, as the evidence has clearly shown." Although Russia as a country is currently banned from participating in international skating events due to the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Valieva has continued to compete within Russian borders without being hindered by RUSADA as recently as the Russian Grand Prix held in October 2022. In mid-November, WADA requested that CAS take up the review of the Valieva case with an eye towards a 4-year suspension of Valieva, which would exclude her from competition at the next Winter Olympics, and to rescind her first place performance at the previous Beijing Olympics because "the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) did not meet a WADA-imposed Nov. 4 deadline to deliver a verdict on Valieva's case." On 13 January, Valieva was denied her gold medal in Senior Women's singles of the
2022 Russian Figure Skating Championships following a ruling by RUSADA stating that her positive drug test was coincident with the December 2021 competition, while her win for team Russia at the Beijing Olympics in February 2022 was endorsed as valid following her passing drug tests in Beijing; WADA has stated that it will continue to press its request for CAS to review RUSADA's decision concerning the positive drug test. In March 2023, Graham Dunbar writing for AP stated that CAS was in the process of selecting a 3-judge panel which should decide upon the question of either allowing or suspending Valieva from competition at the next Winter Olympics based on their investigation. On 22 June 2023, CAS announced that the hearing in the doping case was scheduled to take place 26–29 September 2023,
2024 disqualification by CAS and 2026 Winter Olympics On 28 September 2023, CAS "ordered the production of further documentation" and announced that her hearing had been adjourned until 9–10 November. It appeared that one of the parties in the case requested a file that had not previously been a part of the proceedings. On 10 November, CAS announced that a final decision was expected by the end of January 2024. On 29 January 2024, the CAS disqualified Valieva for four years retroactive to 25 December 2021 for an anti-doping rule violation, as a result of the positive test for trimetazidine. On 30 January 2024, the ISU disqualified her from the 2022 European Championships and the 2022 Winter Olympics in compliance with the ruling, which in turn caused the stripping of her gold medal at the 2022 European Championships (with the gold, silver, and bronze medals reallocated to Shcherbakova, Trusova, and
Loena Hendrickx respectively) and the reallocation of medals in the 2022 Winter Olympics team event to upgrade the United States to gold and Japan to silver while downgrading ROC to bronze. Although Valieva would technically be eligible for participation in the
2026 Winter Olympics following her four year suspension, the previous
full-scale invasion by Russia of Ukraine in 2022 resulted in further
sporting sanctions against Russia which remain in full effect as of February 2024, which would preclude her from participation in the 2026 Winter Olympics unless lifted sufficiently early. In March 2023, the IOC published a statement stating that it supported the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes such as Valieva, as long as they did not "actively" support the war and as long as their flag, anthem, colours, and organizations were excluded (thus preventing them from competing under the
Russian Olympic Committee as in
Tokyo 2020 and
Beijing 2022). The IOC additionally compared the situation to the
Independent Olympic Participants at the 1992 Summer Olympics. The matter of the terms of the eligibility of Russian athletes at the
2024 Summer Olympics was reported by the Associated Press as allowing 15 Russian 'neutrals' to fully participate apparently allowing for the possibility for Valieva to participate at the 2026 Winter Olympics. By the time of the 2026 Winter Olympics, the
Russian and
Belarusian NOCs remained suspended for violating the
Olympic Truce because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. As with the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, athletes from Russia and Belarus could compete at the 2026 Games as
independent Olympians without national identification, under the banner of "
Individual Neutral Athletes" (AIN). The individual neutral athletes had to be approved by their sport's
international federation, and then by an IOC panel. In the end, from Russia, only
Adelia Petrosyan and
Petr Gumennik were allowed to compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics, with Valieva not making the final list of competitors. == Sanctions by Ukraine ==