Olympic Games 2022: the CAS hearing in the case of skater Valieva has begun

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) began hearings on Sunday which will allow it to decide whether the Russian skating prodigy Kamila Valieva, who tested positive for a prohibited substance, can participate in the women's Olympic Games-2022 on Tuesday.

The ritual is now well established: after each of her training sessions, where the slightest of her gestures is spied on and interpreted, Valieva, only 15 years old, crosses without a word the mixed zone where the journalists await her.

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But while she hid her face behind her sweater on Friday, the 2022 European champion this time greeted the press with a resounding collective “hello” with members of the Russian management.

On the ice of the Olympic rink, Valieva, wearing a dark green top and black bottoms, appeared calm and focused, skating her entire short program except for one jump.

At midday again, she put on her skates again, on the training rink this time.

The calm before the storm ?

This Sunday is a crucial day in the young career of the Russian teenager, the big favorite in the women's individual event in Beijing.

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The ad hoc division of the CAS began to hear from 8:30 p.m. local time (1:30 p.m. French time) by videoconference the various parties to the Valieva case, in the first place the Russian anti-doping agency (Rusada) which decided to lift its suspension. provisional following the skater's appeal earlier in the week.

The CAS told AFP that Valieva was ultimately one of the parties to these proceedings and that as such she is free to participate in the hearing.

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The jury will then deliberate but will not make its decision known to the parties concerned until Monday afternoon, the CAS announced on Saturday without giving further details.

The young girl will then have a little over 24 hours to prepare the short program scheduled for Tuesday evening in Beijing, if the CAS rejects the appeal of the sports authorities, International Olympic Committee (IOC) in the lead, and the allowed to continue his Olympics.

Otherwise, if the CAS were to agree with the IOC, Valieva would no longer have the right to skate on Olympic ice.

"We want this case to be resolved as quickly as possible (...) but, as in any justice system, there is a procedure to follow", simply recalled IOC spokesperson Mark Adams during the press briefing. daily newspaper of the Olympic body in Beijing.

"You have to remember that there is a human dimension in (this case) with a 15-year-old person," said Christophe Dubi, the executive director of the Olympics.

Whatever the decision of the CAS, Valieva will remain in the spotlight, while the Olympic movement could experience a new serious crisis.