The International Skating Union (ISU) has decided to reconsider the results of the 2022 European Figure Skating Championships, which has had serious consequences for Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva, who has been stripped of her gold medal. This was announced in an official statement from the ISU press service.
The document states that the court rejected Valieva’s appeal against the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), made on January 29, 2024. As a result, the results of the European Championships, which were held in Tallinn, have been amended. Now, the gold medal will be awarded to Anna Shcherbakova, silver will go to Alexandra Ignatova (Trusova), and bronze will go to Belgian figure skater Luna Hendrickx. A medal presentation ceremony for the updated medals is planned for the near future. The ISU statement also emphasized that the organization will continue to take measures to protect the integrity of sports competitions and will support the principles of “clean sport.”
It is important to note that a Swiss court previously rejected Valieva’s appeal in the anti-doping rule violation case, which created additional difficulties for the athlete. As a result, she will have to pay approximately 2.3 million rubles in legal costs.
For reference, at the end of the 2021 Olympic Games in Beijing, when Kamila was only 15 years old, the banned substance trimetazidine was found in her sample. At that time, she was considered one of the main favorites for the competition. However, following a doping scandal, the skater failed to achieve her best performance and finished only fourth. Following this, the Russian figure skating team was stripped of its team gold medal, and Valieva herself lost the European Championship title she had won just a month before the Olympic Games. In early 2024, she was officially disqualified for violating anti-doping rules; her disqualification expires in December of this year.
Valieva’s case has sparked considerable controversy and criticism of her former coach, Eteri Tutberidze. Prominent coaches such as Tatyana Tarasova have expressed dissatisfaction with Tutberidze’s alleged failure to monitor the drugs prescribed to her student and her failure to take steps to protect Valieva in the current situation. However, Eteri Tutberidze herself denied all accusations, and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) later stated that she bears no responsibility for the incident.
Recently, it became known that Valieva left Tutberidze to join Tatiana Navka. However, the figure skater herself has not yet commented on her future plans. Currently, she is a silver medalist at the Russian Championships and a World Junior Champion, confirming her high level of skill and potential in figure skating. Thus, the situation surrounding Kamila Valieva continues to be the focus of attention from both the sports community and the media.
