The suspense continues as the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) gears up to resume the riveting chapter in figure skater Kamila Valieva's doping saga.
This unfolding drama, which sent shockwaves through the Beijing Olympics and cast a long shadow over Russia's beleaguered anti-doping system, resumes on Thursday at the Lausanne-based court.
The CAS scrutinized Valieva's case in September, a narrative that took an unexpected turn when proceedings were adjourned.
A panel of arbitrators sought additional documentation, injecting a sense of intrigue into an already captivating plot.
The closed-door hearing, set to conclude on Friday, promises to unfurl the remaining evidence and the parties' closing submissions.
Valieva's tryst with controversy began when she tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine at the Russian national championships in December 2021, a mere 15 years old at the time.
Her team posited a mix-up with her grandfather's heart medication as a potential cause for the positive test.
The bombshell dropped a day after Valieva played a pivotal role in securing the Russian Olympic Committee's (ROC) team gold at the Beijing Winter Olympics in February 2022.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) granted her permission to compete in the women's single event, but the specter of unresolved medals for the team event loomed large.
Vincent Zhou, a skater on the silver medal-winning U.S. team, voiced frustration, decrying the global anti-doping system as "failing athletes" amid the prolonged wait for medal allocation.
The Russian anti-doping agency (RUSADA) took a unique stance, absolving Valieva of fault or negligence, sparing her from sanctions, but nullifying her results from the fateful national championships.
This decision, contested by RUSADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), and the International Skating Union (ISU), is now under the intense scrutiny of the sport's highest court.
As the legal battle unfolds, RUSADA seeks "appropriate consequences," ISU clamors for suspension and WADA strives for a four-year ban that would reverberate through time, erasing Valieva's results from the Beijing Games and potentially denying ROC their coveted team event gold medal.
