Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva, now 17 years old, will testify by video link in a hearing over her long-contested doping case later this month.
Valieva, then 15, was a favourite for the 2022 Beijing Olympics, especially when she became the first woman to land any quad jump in Olympic competition. She ultimately finished fourth after being allowed to continue (pending investigation) by an emergency Court of Arbitration for Sport tribunal, despite the reveal that she had tested positive for trimetazidine a few months prior at the Russian national championships.
At that time lawyers representing Valieva argued that the test results were due to inadvertent contamination from her grandfather's heart medication (trimetazidine is used to increase blood flow and endurance).
She was subsequently held not at fault by a Russian tribunal, after which the World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Skating Union appealed to the CAS.
WADA is seeking up to a four-year ban for Valieva and the ISU a two-to-four-year ban and Olympic disqualification. If Valieva is disqualified Russia would be stripped of the team gold and the U.S.'s silver would be upgraded to gold.
Valieva's lawyers now argue that the CAS does not have jurisdiction, and that as Valieva was not at fault, an official reprimand is sufficient; they are also arguing against Olympic disqualification.
Valieva and members from the Russian anti-doping agency are among those testifying remotely at a three-day closed-door hearing in Lausanne beginning Sept. 26. The court stated, "at this juncture, it is not possible to indicate when the final decision will be announced."
