Kamila Valieva ‘happy but tired emotionally’ after being cleared to compete in figure skating singles at Beijing 2022

ByMichael Hincks

Updated 15/02/2022 at 07:25 GMT

Kamila Valieva has addressed the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision which cleared the 15-year-old Russian figure skater to compete in the women’s individual event at the Winter Olympics in Beijing. Valieva said she sat through the hearing for seven hours, while the announcement she could take part in the singles came just a day before the short program gets going.

Kamila Valieva admits she is “happy but tired” after being cleared to compete in the women’s individual figure skating event at the Winter Olympics.

Valieva failed a drugs test in December, but the positive only came to light during Beijing 2022 – after she had helped the Russian Olympic Committee win gold in the team event.

On Sunday the 15-year-old Russian then sat through a seven-hour Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) hearing, which would determine whether she was able to participate in Tuesday’s singles.

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CAS gave her the green light, although the team gold – and any medal she potentially wins in the individual competition – could be taken from her at a later date if she is found to have breached doping regulations.

“These days have been very difficult for me,” Valieva told Russian state broadcaster Channel One, per AP.

“I’m happy but I’m tired emotionally.”

• ‘The only difference I see is I’m a Black young lady’ – Richardson hits out after Valieva decision
• When is Valieva skating? Olympic singles schedule after Russian is cleared to compete
• Valieva free to compete in Tuesday's singles after CAS clears Russian figure skater

Valieva watched the CAS hearing on a video link from the Olympic village, and she claimed the process has shown her adult life “can be unfair to some extent”.

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She added: “I sat there for seven hours, we had one 20-minute break, and I sat there and watched. It was very difficult, but it is apparently one of the moments, of the phases, that I have to go through.”

Confirmation that Valieva would be clear to compete at the Games came on Monday, one day before the women’s individual competition takes place in Beijing.

Valieva will skate in the short program on Tuesday, with the free skate to follow on Wednesday.

The decision to allow her to take part was criticised by Team USA, while American sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson also questioned whether it was fair.

“Can we get a solid answer on the difference of her situation and mine?” Richardson tweeted on Monday.

“My mother died and I can’t run and was also favoured to place top 3. The only difference I see is I’m a black young lady.”

Team USA chief Sarah Hirshland accused Russia of a “systemic and pervasive disregard for clean sport”.

Meanwhile, former Italian Olympian Valentina Marchei said the protracted doping scandal is causing a “loss of credibility” in figure skating.

“There is a very strange atmosphere here in Beijing,” Eurosport expert Marchei said.

“They protect the athlete, she is just 15 and that’s the right thing to do. The delay of the notification is not the fault of Kamila and there is going to be a deeper investigation into that after the Olympic Games.

“It’s true also that this, allowing her to skate, is going to create an enormous precedent in this sport and that causes the loss of credibility of figure skating. As much as Kamila should live her Olympic moment, also all the other competitors should feel protected and should feel part of a system that defends clear sport.”

'Allowing her to skate creates an enormous precedent' - Marchei on Valieva competing

There will be no medal ceremony if Valieva finishes in the top three, a move the IOC confirmed on Monday.

"You are a young lady with a dream. You have been sacrificing everything for that dream. Strict diet, many long exhausting hours of practice, lots of sweat, lots of cries, years 8000km away from your family just to chase that dream," added Marchei, who competed at the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics.

"Now you have a chance to win a medal at the Olympics. To be on that Olympic podium. To hear your anthem. To realise that dream not just for you but also for your country.

"And you find yourself that all you can do is to hope that the favourite of the event, the unbeatable girl, has to fall multiple times in order for you to fulfil that dream. Is that Olympic spirit? Is that what the Olympics are about?"

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