Anger As Russian Skater Cleared To Try For Second Gold At Games

The Beijing Winter Games descended into acrimony and farce yesterday after the 15-year-old Russian skater Kamila Valieva was cleared to compete again despite a positive doping test hanging over her head.

- Sean Ingle

In a highly anticipated ruling, the court of arbitration for sport (Cas) said there were “exceptional circumstances” surrounding Valieva’s case, and that banning her while it was ongoing “would cause her irreparable harm”.

It means Valieva, who last week became the first woman to land a quadruple jump at the Olympics, inspiring the Russian Olympic Committee to victory in the team event, will now go for a second gold in the women’s single skating competition, which starts today.

The verdict was immediately condemned by several former athletes, including Canada’s 2018 Olympic team skating gold medallist Meagan Duhamel. “We were just told illegal drugs and abuse are OK,” she tweeted. “February 14, 2022. The day the Olympic spirit died.”

The decision was also criticised by the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee, whose skaters finished with silver behind the Russians in the team event. Its chief executive, Sarah Hirshland, described it as “another chapter in the systemic and pervasive disregard for clean sport by Russia”.