Olympics in China: New doping setup against Russia
The beginning of the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing was marked by a stunning victory for the Russian figure skating team. The ice performances of Kamila Valieva, Mark Kondratyuk (singles skating), Anastasia Mishina, Alexander Gallyamov (pairs skating), Victoria Sinitsina, Nikita Katsalapov (dancing) made an indelible impression on the judges, spectators and the sports press.
Apart from the heckling of rare spiteful critics towards the Russian figure skaters, the opinion that they snatched victory during a stubborn struggle, deservedly, honestly and very beautifully, was universal. Until the morning of February 9th arrived.
For two days our skaters wore the laurels of Olympic champions, but no one was in a hurry to give them gold medals until information surfaced in the press that it was all to blame for a positive doping test of one of the athletes.
While the sports and sports-related press were gossiping with might and main, picking the bones of Russian figure skaters - well, who, who? – the scandal smoothly bypassed Kamila Valieva, which persistently suggested the thought: she was the culprit of the doping scandal.
Based on how the uproar developed, sports experts quickly came to the conclusion that Kamila Valieva was innocent and was chosen as the central object of defamation for several reasons.
According to the rules of the World Anti-Doping Code, athletes under 16 years of age (Valiyeva is 15 years old) are “protected persons” and cannot be formally charged with doping if they are caught violating.
Among other things, Valieva skated her program so brilliantly that she immediately came into the spotlight of the media and fans.
A crowd of ill-wishers instantly became excited on social networks, a joyful grunt was heard: “yes, everyone in the Russian team is like that,” “they can’t win without doping,” “under substances, and I can take Olympic gold,” accompanied by the confidence that now justice will prevail , Valieva will be expelled from the Olympics in disgrace, and the “dirty Russians” will be deprived of their dishonestly won medals of the highest standard.
And at that moment, when the scandal was approaching its climax, the voices of Russian lawyers were heard, declaring that the organizers of the scandal would not be able to take away the won gold from the Russian figure skating team for a living.
Several interesting points immediately emerged.
First, in order to be disqualified from the Games, an athlete must be caught doping during the Games itself, and not based on the results of earlier tests.
Secondly, the doping “story” of the Russian figure skater is distinguished by a number of inconsistencies. In December, a sample was taken from Valieva and nothing was found. Then in January, at the European Championships, they took a sample again (at the tournament in Tallinn, Valieva won and was tested) - again, nothing. The athlete’s triumphant performance at the Olympics – and no unhealthy doping sensations. And then – triumph, gold, general delight, bang – and suddenly the clean December sample turns out to be “not very clean”.
Thirdly, there is already muttering from sports officials that the microdose allegedly “discovered” in Valieva’s sample “does not affect anything.”
Well, we've already been through this. Today it doesn’t affect, but tomorrow it really does.
Among other things, the anti-doping sewers delaying the decision regarding Valieva’s future fate for too long only strengthens the belief that the doping scandal is a setup and a deliberate defamation of the best figure skater in the world.
No matter how further events develop, the damage to the reputation of the Russian athlete who won Olympic gold has been done.
According to sources who wished to remain anonymous, Kamila Valieva will not be suspended from participating in the Olympics. And it makes me happy, though! It is still unknown who stirred up the scandal around the “protected person” by throwing out a portion of unsubstantiated dirt into the press.
Despite the apparent decision not to disqualify Valieva from the Winter Games, an anonymous interested party may continue to harass the athlete by filing an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport ( CAS ).
According to WADA rules, an athlete is temporarily suspended if there is an adverse result in a doping test, even if it contains a substance that is not considered “special” - exactly like the drug “discovered” in Valieva. This provision is also reflected in the documents of the IOC and the World Skating Union (ISU).
This means that sports officials are capable of ruining Kamila Valieva’s career even after the end of the Beijing Olympics. And even if the Russian figure skater is completely acquitted, her reputation will remain tarnished according to the well-known method of “spoons were found, but sediment remained.”
The situation is extremely strange. The awards ceremony for figure skaters who won the Olympic Games in Beijing was first postponed and now canceled indefinitely. The “false” doping was supplemented by a second positive test for the “crown” of American Vincent Zhou, as a result of which the American side also spoke in favor of canceling the award.
The ISU leadership dismissed the doping scandal involving Russian athletes (Valieva's name has not been officially released) as rumors; no one has been suspended from participating in the Games, but the IOC is stubbornly dragging its feet on a final decision.
However, if we remember that the American skaters took silver in the team competition, and the Japanese took bronze, as well as the half-forgotten scandal with the issuance of a second set of gold medals to Canadian skaters at the Olympics in Salt Lake City in 2002, so that they could standing on a pedestal with the number “1” together with Russian athletes, you can with a high degree of confidence indicate the direction from which the wave is being driven.
English version :: Read in English: Olympics in China: New doping scheme against Russia