Putin appreciates Kamila Valieva’s efforts in Figure skating

Russian President Vladimir Putin has defended teen figure skater Kamila Valieva, claiming that it is difficult to reach “perfection” while using prohibited substances.

“It is completely impossible to reach such perfection through unscrupulous techniques, with the assistance of additional substances and manipulations,” Putin stated on Tuesday.

“There is no place for such additional tactics in the sport of figure skating, and we all know and understand it,” Putin remarked on Tuesday at a ceremony honoring Russia’s 2022 Beijing Olympic Games medalists, according to Russian state media.

Valieva became embroiled in a doping scandal at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing after testing positive for the banned chemical trimetazidine, which is often used to treat angina and can improve endurance by increasing blood flow to the heart.

Although the 15-year-old failed a drug test in December, before the Olympics, the result was not revealed until after the competition, when it was reviewed and reported to the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) in February.

Valieva was subsequently suspended the day after leading the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) to gold in the team event, where she became the first woman to land a quadruple jump in a Winter Olympics.

It is unknown whether or not the medal will be rescinded.

She was later cleared to compete in the women’s individual figure skating competition by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), where she fell many times, left the ice in tears, and finished fourth.

Valieva had blamed the positive test on a prescription mix-up involving her grandfather’s medications, as he takes trimetazidine for a heart problem.

Russia’s history of extensive doping is well-documented; in 2019, WADA suspended Russian competitors from international tournaments for doping offenses.

On appeal, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) determined that individual Russian athletes might compete but would do so as ‘neutral athletes,’ unable to use the Russian name, flag, or anthem.

“The entire country, as well as figure skating fans all over the world, were rooting for Kamila,” Putin remarked on Tuesday, according to the media agency.

“She managed to accumulate her talent, all of the most difficult figure skating aspects, her plastique, beauty, power, and sensitivity, as well as her hard work to elevate this sport to the level of true art,” he said.

Putin’s remarks come as the sporting world continues to avoid Russia in retaliation to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.