(Reuters) -The hearing of Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva’s doping case has been adjourned until November after a panel of arbitrators asked for further documentation, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said on Thursday.
Valieva tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine at the Russian national championships in December 2021, but the result was only made known on Feb. 8, 2022 a day after she helped her team win gold at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
The International Skating Union (ISU) had lodged an appeal to CAS, sport’s highest court, after a Russian investigation found the teenager not guilty of a doping infraction despite acknowledging she failed a drug test.
“After the presentation of evidence by the parties, the Panel ordered the production of further documentation and, in order to allow the parties to consider and address such documentation, allowed two further days for the hearing of the appeal,” CAS said.
“The hearing will therefore resume on 9 and 10 November 2023 in Lausanne at which time the evidentiary proceedings will be completed and the Panel will hear the parties’ closing submissions.
“The Panel will then deliberate and prepare the Arbitral Award containing its decision.”
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) authorised Valieva to take part in the women’s single event despite her positive test but said medals for the team event would not be allocated until her case was settled.
The United States took silver behind the Russians, with Japan getting the bronze and Canada placing fourth.
The Russian anti-doping agency (RUSADA) disciplinary commission found that Valieva had committed a violation for which she bore “no fault or negligence.”
The ISU is seeking a ruling from CAS to set aside RUSADA’s decision and sanction Valieva with a period of ineligibility starting from Dec. 25, 2021 and disqualification of her results.
The ISU has also asked CAS to determine the final result of the event.
WADA, meanwhile, is seeking a four-year ban on top of the disqualification of all her results from that date.
In her defence, Valieva said the positive test was the result of a mix-up with her grandfather’s heart medication.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
