Russian skater at center of doping controversy takes fourth place

Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva, who has been at the center of a recent doping controversy at the Beijing Olympics, finished in fourth place in the women’s individual figure skating competition Thursday.

Russian Anna Shcherbakova won gold, followed by fellow Russian Alexandra Trusova with silver and Japanese Kaori Sakamoto with bronze.

Valieva, 15, was the favorite but did not medal after faltering and stumbling multiple times during the event and finishing with a score of 224.09.

She had faced enormous pressure going into the skate because of a test that showed she had used the banned heart medication trimetazidine. She tested positive for the drug in December, but her results were not publicized until last week.

Leaders of the Olympic games announced before the competition that if Valieva finished first, second or third in the event, medals would not be awarded for women’s individual figure skating because of the doping controversy.

“Should Ms Valieva finish amongst the top three competitors in the Women’s Single Skating competition, no flower ceremony and no medal ceremony will take place during the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022,” the International Olympic Committee said in a statement.

Olympic officials cleared Valieva to compete the day before the first women’s individual figure skating event, after deliberation as a result of Valieva’s drug results.

That decision came under enormous criticism from some quarters, with some observers asking why she was allowed to compete when other Olympians who have tested positive for drugs such as marijuana were forbidden from competing.

The Olympic panel assigned to deliberate ultimately concluded that it would cause Valieva “irreparable harm” if she were to be excluded from the competition.