Russian teen figure skater at center of Olympic drug testing controversy finishes fourth in finals

Skater Kamila Valieva tested positive before start of Beijing Winter games for banned substance

Published: February 17, 2022 9:57am

Updated: February 17, 2022 11:03pm

The drug-test controversy surrounding a 15-year-old Russia Olympic figure-skater came to a temporary end Thursday when her mistake-filled performance resulted in a fourth-place finish, ending at least for now the debate about whether an Olympian who fails a drug test should still be allowed to compete.

Skater Kamila Valieva tested positive before the start of the Beijing Winter games for a banned substance. However, she was allowed to continue to compete and on Monday was also permitted by an international court to contend for a Gold medal in the women's individual finals, pending further investigation.

Under the international court's ruling, there would be no medal ceremony had Valieva, a top contender, finished among the top-three contenders.  

The winner of the final's event was fellow Russia Olympic Committee skater Anna Shcherbakova. Teammate Alexandra Trusova finished second, for the silver medal, and Kaori Sakamoto, of Japan, finished third, for the bronze.  

Valiera, who fell several times during her short-program performance, finished fourth, according to the Associated Press

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