OAN’s Abril Elfi
12:23 PM – Tuesday, January 30, 2024
The United States figure skating team, Team USA, is now set to receive gold medals two years after competing in an Olympic event as it was recently discovered that Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva was under the influence of a banned drug, officially disqualifying her and Russia’s team.
On Monday, Valieva received a four-year ban for taking a banned drug during the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China.
Following the Court of Arbitration for Sports’ announcement of Valieva’s suspension, Team USA posted the news on social media late on Monday night.
Valieva’s suspension runs from December 2021, the month she failed the drug test in preparation for the Olympics, to 2025. She also will lose any awards she has won since late 2021.
Despite Valieva’s positive test result for the prohibited drug “trimetazidine,” the court allowed the 15-year-old to continue competing in the Beijing Games while it conducted an investigation that would take several months and since she was a minor. Minors in the Olympics have different rules to follow than an adult athlete would.
“Trimetazidine is a drug for angina pectoris sold under many brand names. Trimetazidine is described as the first cytoprotective anti-ischemic agent developed and marketed by Laboratoires Servier.” However, it has also been utilized in the past as a “doping” agent.
She helped Russia win the gold in the team competition, however, the International Olympic Committee announced that a podium ceremony would not be held to present the team’s medal.
At that time, the United States came in at second place with the silver medal and Japan placed third.
However, the court said on Monday that after a lengthy investigation, Valieva was not able to prove that “she did not intentionally take the medication.”
The U.S. Olympics and Paralympics Committee also released a statement in response to the suspension, praising the United States athletes for their efforts during the 2022 games and adding that the committee had been “eagerly awaiting” to suspend Valieva for her drug use.
“We now anticipate the day when we can wholeheartedly celebrate these athletes, along with their peers from around the world,” the committee added. “Their moment is approaching, and when it arrives, it will serve as a testament to the justice and recognition they truly deserve.”
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