MOSCOW, September 17 – The winner of the Olympic team figure skating tournament as part of the Russian national team, Kamila Valieva, said that the situation with a positive doping test result turned her life upside down and made the athlete more mature and conscious.

The figure skater passed a positive doping test in December 2021, this became known during the Beijing Olympics. The case is currently before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), with hearings scheduled for September 26-28.

“Everything that is done is for the better. I try to stick to this. Simply because the negative is always easier to find, and the positive moments are more difficult. And you have to learn this. It helps a lot in life. If you learn to find the positive in everything, then life will become better and more interesting,” the skater added.

The figure skater passed a positive doping test on December 25, 2021, on the day of the free program of the Russian Championship. This became known on February 8, 2022 – the day after the end of the team tournament of the Olympics in Beijing, where the Russian team with Valieva won. After an appropriate investigation, the disciplinary anti-doping committee of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) issued a verdict of “no fault or negligence” and did not impose any punishment on the athlete, but annulled the result of the Russian Championship. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) referred Valieva’s case to CAS, with the International Skating Union (ISU) and RUSADA joining as parties.