The Kremlin slammed what it called a “politicised” decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to ban figure skater Kamila Valieva for four years over doping.
“Of course, we don’t agree with it… From my point of view, of course, it’s politicised,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies.
Russia’s Olympic Committee (ROC) said the decision proved that “war has been declared on Russian sport and, as we see, all methods are good”.
In Beijing in February 2022, Valieva, then 15, became the first female skater to land a quadruple jump in Olympic competition, helping Russia secure gold in the team event.
The next day, she was told she had tested positive before the Games for trimetazidine, a drug used to treat angina but banned for athletes.
On Monday, CAS suspended Valieva, 17, for four years starting from December 25, 2021, when the test was taken“.
The CAS decision is negative, but it has long been impossible to count on the objectivity and impartiality of this international structure,” ROC said in a statement.
ROC added it “will closely follow the further steps and decisions of international sports organisations and, if necessary, take appropriate measures to legally protect Russian interests”.—APP
