Kamila Valieva positive test 'due to grandfather mix up', IOC defends response to doping case

Kamila Valieva’s defence surrounding her positive test for trimetazidine was due to a mix up with her grandfather’s heart medication, Denis Oswald, Permanent Chair of the International Olympic Committee's Disciplinary Commission, said at the joint IOC & Beijing 2022 daily briefing on Tuesday.

That argument was made at her hearing with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on whether she should be able to compete at Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, Oswald said.

"Her argument was this contamination happened with a product her grandfather was taking," Oswald said.

Oswald added that the IOC is yet to receive reasoned decisions from CAS, so is unaware of all the arguments considered by the courts, but said that the B sample is yet to be analysed. And Oswald added that with the overarching investigation ongoing, it would not be possible to award medals to athletes in events where Valieva finished on the podium.

“The message is we want to allocate the medal to the right person,” added Oswald. “As long as the decision regarding the doping case of this athlete has not been clarified – until we have a clear situation then we will not allocate the medal.”

The Valieva story has become the dominant narrative of the Games, but Oswald added he was surprised by the level of comment on the situation, given that established facts were not currently available on the matter.

Oswald said: “It is surprising that people from all over the world have opinions and comment on the case where we – ourselves (the IOC) – don’t know the details. It is very easy to criticise without knowing the situation. We have tried to do our best to apply principles of justice, due process and to respect the law. It is part of our job to be criticised. We cannot do more than we have done and we have tried our best!”

It was put to Oswald that authorities had been historically lenient on Russia, but he defended the sanctions placed on the country.

“We took very harsh measures after 2014 – or [more accurately] when everything was discovered,” added Oswald. “Thirty nine athletes – if I remember correctly – were punished, suspended for two Games. Our decision was partly overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport and we had to respect that.

"The IOC also suspended the Russian Olympic Committees for the next Games. The only exception the IOC made was to not punish clean athletes because a country like Russia has clean athletes. Therefore, after stronger screening, a number of athletes were allowed to participate in PyeongChang.

“The task of the IOC is not to punish clean athletes.”

The decision from CAS related to whether Valieva should participate at the Games. 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.

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