Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Occupied Palestine: Five members of the IOF wounded in clashes that took place in Rafah on Wednesday
Israeli media outlet: Netanyahu and Katz are expected to conduct a security assessment soon, and a wave of attacks in Gaza is anticipated later
Israeli media outlet: Gunmen emerged from a tunnel in Rafah and attacked forces in the area with gunfire and anti-tank missiles
Local sources from Damascus countryside: An Israeli occupation drone targeted the road connecting the town of Beit Jinn and Tell Bat al-Warda with 3 airstrikes, without any reported casualties
Al Mayadeen's Beirut Bureau chief: Addition of non-military envoy was agreed upon to pursue non-technical matters.
Al Mayadeen's Beirut Bureau Chief: Lebanese Presidency's statement affirms Lebanon's readiness to attend talks in an effective capacity.
Lebanese Presidency: President has assigned former Ambassador Simon Karam to head military technical committee in talks.
Israeli occupation forces carry out an arrest campaign during a raid on Surif, north of Al-Khalil in the southern occupied West Bank.
Syrian Foreign Ministry: Damascus expresses its gratitude to the countries that voted in the UN General Assembly in favor of ending the Israeli occupation of the Syrian Golan.
Ushakov: Russia and the United States agreed not to disclose the substance of the Putin–Witkoff talks.

Russian Olympic Chief rejects 'provisional' recognition of Valieva's results

  • By Al Mayadeen Net
  • Source: Agencies
  • 17 Feb 2022 16:13
5 Min Read

While the IOC punishes the 15-year-old for an outdated test, the ROC expresses strong rejection of the committee's decisions.

  • x
  • bhi
    Kamila Valieva, winning "flawless" on Tuesday.

After Valieva's results were considered as only provisional, the president of the Russian Olympic Committee Stanislav Pozdnyakov, said his organization "categorically disagrees" with the decision. 

Kamila Valieva, a Russian figure skater caught in political crosshairs of a doping scandal that was blown out of proportion, is in the middle of an investigation for the positive test which she returned in December. The test, though outdated, was revealed only after she had scored gold in Beijing. 

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has postponed the medal ceremony for the team event, and will not be holding one for the women's individual event if Valieva were to win a medal after being cleared by the sports' court.

A spokesman for the IOC, Mark Adams, said that any results involving 15-year-old Valieva in Beijing will carry an "asterisk" until her case is resolved. 

However, Pozdnyakov "categorically disagrees" with this, saying results should not be subject to any revision under any circumstances, no matter what Valieva's case brings. 

“Regarding the result of the team tournament, the Russian Olympic Committee has already sent a letter to the ISU [International Skating Union], in which it stated in detail the position that the results of the team tournament are not subject to revision under any circumstances, regardless of the outcome of the disciplinary investigation against the athlete.

“The anti-doping rules are worded in such a way that a review of results in a team event would only take place if the alleged anti-doping violation had been committed during the Olympic Games. We will defend this position consistently in any possible proceedings, including in the CAS, if required.”

The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) has sent a letter to the IOC, requesting the medal ceremonies to be held in Beijing.

“The ROC has already sent a corresponding request to the IOC so that the awards ceremony can be held, because this applies not only to Russian athletes, but also to other countries that participated in the competition and are among the winners in the singles skating,” said Oleg Matytsin, Russian Sports Minister. 

“We hope that the opinion of the ROC will be taken into account. As no guilt has been established and the details of the case are not established, it is necessary to allow the ceremony to be held.”

Although Valieva's anti-doping tests were negative before and after the December 25 test, mainstream media exploited the test results to create a distraction from the victory of all 6 Russian ice-skaters in the tournament. 

Unethical & deliberate 

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), right after her win, made an announcement that Valieva's test is positive. Although the test was done more than 45 days ago in mid-December, the announcement prompted anti-Russian propaganda and criminal prosecution threats from the US-based agency.

Rick Sterling, a journalist who has written extensively about doping in the Olympics, explained that what's happening to the 15-year-old is a huge distraction from the actual success of the Olympics, and that people have a short memory: Russian athletes, more often than other nationalities, have fewer positive cases in the anti-doping test. 

"Politicians and media in the West who hate China and Russia have hit the jackpot with news that Kamila Valieva tested positive for a banned drug," says Sterling.

"This is a huge distraction from the ongoing events and success of the Beijing Winter Olympics. It is taking over the media. The fact that Russian athletes have been tested more often with fewer positive cases than most other countries is ignored. This story is very much welcomed by those who see China and Russia as 'adversaries.'"

This card was played immediately after all 6 Russian ice-skaters won the tournament. 

"The timeline of 45 days for WADA to report the adverse sample has actually, in many people's eyes, turned the matter from an anti-doping one to the welfare of a child," says Genevieve Gordon-Thomson, chairwoman of the UK Sports Association, and vice-chairwoman of the British Association for Sport and Law.

"No child should be in a position to be subject to any form of a doping scandal. They simply should not be abused in this way. Valieva is a protected person under the WADA Code and thus should be receiving the required support to compete free from suspicion."

However, the protection of minors was ignored. Lucien Valloni, a Swiss sports lawyer, said "This is now the consequence – that they have not informed correctly, they should not have informed at all... They should not have delayed the medals ceremony."

"When Lance Amstrong, Floyd Landis and other runners of the Tour de France have been tested positive to doping, we never heard so much noise and their cases were presented as 'errors' in their careers," says Guy Mettan, a prominent Swiss journalist. "So it seems to me that Russia is a good scapegoat, paying the highest toll for saving the reputation of a cleaner sport."

  • Russian Olympic Committee
  • Kamila Valieva
  • Beijing Winter Olympics 2022
  • International Olympic Committee

Most Read

13 elite Israeli troops were wounded in a confrontations in Beit Jinn, Syria.

13 elite Israeli troops wounded in confrontations in southern Syria

  • West Asia
  • 28 Nov 2025
Russia and China are not part of the Resistance Front, but they are playing an important role in building structures to bypass US power and thus facilitate a multipolar and freer world. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

The Resistance Front and BRICS

  • Opinion
  • 29 Nov 2025
Four killed, ten wounded in targeted California shooting in Stockton

Four killed, 10 wounded in 'targeted' California shooting

  • US & Canada
  • 30 Nov 2025
Point-blank killings: 'Israel' executes 2 Palestinian youths in Jenin

Graphic footage: IOF execute 2 Palestinians from point blank in Jenin

  • Politics
  • 27 Nov 2025

Coverage

All
In Five

Read Next

All
Security at the al-Afad camp for displaced people in the town of al-Dabba, northern Sudan, on 26 November 2025 (AP)
Politics

Amnesty calls out RSF war crimes as fighting in Sudan spreads

People protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outside a court in occupied Jaffa on Monday, December 1, 2025, a day after he asked the country's president for a pardon amid his ongoing corruption trial. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Politics

Netanyahu trial reveals deep failures in Israeli governance: Atlantic

A Russian fighter jet taxi on the tarmac of the Hmeimim Air Base, a Syrian airbase currently operated by Russia, located southeast of the city of Latakia in the town of Hmeimim, Syria, on Monday, Dec.16, 2024 (AP)
Politics

Russian military bases in Syria remain operational: Russia Deputy FM

Israeli soldiers work on tanks at a staging area on the border with Gaza Strip, Occupied Palestine, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Four Israeli soldiers injured, one seriously, in Rafah confrontations

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS