BEIJING, Feb. 15 (BNA) – Russian athlete Kamila Valyaeva said she is happy but exhausted after a grueling hearing about doping that ended with her being allowed to skate in the women’s short program on Tuesday night at the Beijing Olympics.
The 15-year-old is the favorite to win the gold medal in the women’s competition along with fellow Russians Alexandra Trusova and Anna Shcherbakova, The Associated Press reports.
Valieva was approved to skate despite failing a drug test on December 25, and the result only came out last week after winning gold with the Russian Olympic Committee. The Court of Arbitration for Sport granted her a positive decision because she is a minor, known in Olympic terminology as a “protected person”, and subject to different rules than any adult athlete.
“These days were very difficult for me,” Valeeva told Russia’s Channel One in comments shown on Monday night. “I’m happy, but emotionally tired.”
There will be no medal ceremony if Valieva finishes in the top three because the IOC is concerned that Valieva’s ban will continue after a full doping investigation. Only on Monday, the court ruled whether she could skate at the Olympics.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport had already said Valeeva gave evidence during the lengthy hearing that ended around 3am on Monday local time. It wasn’t clear that she sat in on the whole thing via the video link from Olympic Village.
“I sat there for seven hours, and we got a 20-minute break, and I sat there and watched. It was very difficult, but it seemed to be one of the moments, of the stages, that I have to go through,” she said, adding that the whole process taught her that adult life is. It could be somewhat unfair.”