Fifteen-year-old Russian Olympic figure skater Kamila Valieva will have an expedited hearing after she was briefly banned by a Russian anti-doping agency for failing a drug test she had taken in December, according to The Associated Press.
Her brief ban by the Russian anti-doping agency was lifted on Wednesday after an appeal.
The International Olympic Committee and World Anti-Doping Agency have appealed the decision to lift Valieva’s suspension, and the fate of her eligibility to compete in the Olympics will now be decided by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, The Washington Post reported.
Valieva competed in the team event and helped Russia, competing as Team ROC in accordance with a previous World Anti-Doping Agency ban, win an Olympic gold medal in this year’s games, but she has yet to be presented her medal due to the unresolved status of her eligibility to compete, the Post reports.
The Russian Olympic Committee has said that Valieva has strong support from the Kremlin and that they will fight to ensure that the teenager keeps her gold medal, the AP reports.
The International Testing Agency confirmed that Valieva had tested positive for a prohibited substance called trimetazidine in December during the Russian championships. Valieva was briefly suspended, but the Russian Anti-Doping Agency lifted the suspension after an appeal, saying their reasoning would “be issued shortly to all concerned parties,” according to the Post.
Since Valieva is a minor, her coaches and team doctors could also face an investigation over the positive test due to the World Anti-Doping Code, which is not typically the case for those over 18, the AP noted. As a child, Valieva also could receive a reprimand instead of a full suspension.
The AP reported that it is likely that Valieva will be stripped of her Russian national title from December onward.