A legal issue involving an anti-doping test taken by Kamila Valieva, the 15-year-old figure skating phenom from Russia who was expected to contend for the women’s gold, is reportedly the reason the medal ceremony for the Olympic team figure skating competition in Beijing was delayed, according to insidethegames.
Valieva, who led the women’s singles standings in both the short program and free skating, played a pivotal role in Russia winning the team event, which took place on Monday. The medal ceremony was supposed to be held Tuesday night, but was delayed because of a legal issue, an IOC spokesperson said on Wednesday.
According to insidethegames, the exact nature of Valieva’s problem is unclear. The situation is further complicated, though, because she is a protected person under the rules of the world anti-doping code, meaning that because she has not reached the age of 16, she cannot officially be identified if she is guilty of an anti-doping violation.
If Valieva faces sanctions for the violation, the penalties are expected to likely be less severe than if she was over the age of 16.
Valieva holds world records for short program and free skate scores. She became the first woman to land a quad jump at the Olympics in the team competition.
The situation could affect Canada, which finished fourth in the team event.
The United States took silver and Japan captured bronze.
The medal ceremony was supposed to be held Tuesday night, but was delayed because of a legal issue, an IOC spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The Russians are officially called the Russian Olympic Committee at the Beijing Olympics after a 2019 decision by the World Anti-Doping Agency to ban Russia from international sports competition for four years for a state-sponsored doping scheme.
Athletes are allowed to compete, but not under a Russian banner.
The ban was shortened after an appeal, but runs through 2022.
The IOC first suspended Russia in 2017 with the country’s team called the Olympic Athletes from Russia at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Games.
