At just 15 years old, Valieva captivated the world and outperformed her country's established such as Anna Shcherbakova (individual gold), Alexandra Trusova (silver), or the pair of Viktoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov (dance, silver).

CAS heard final arguments from both parties in a hearing that resumed on Thursday 9 November, and concluded the following day. The Court will now enter into a deliberation process that is expected to be completed "before the end of January 2024," according to the release from the world sport's highest legal authority.

Valieva was 15 years old in 2022, and as a minor, the whole matter of her positive test should have been treated with absolutenfidentiality, as required by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). A serious procedural error that would invalidate any case in any legal context.

However, the case gained significant media attention when the positive test from late 2021 was revealed during the Winter Games (February 2022) after Russia, with Valieva as one of its members, won the team event thanks to the first quadruple jump by a woman in the history of the Games.

Confusion with another medication

The prodigious skater from Kazan was found to have a small concentration of trimetazidine, a drug banned by WADA in 2014 on suspicion that it could improve blood circulation. Valieva's defence argued that she may have taken a pill by error, mistaking it for a drug her grandfather was taking for a heart problem.

In 2023, the Disciplinary Commission of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) closed the case and did not sanction Valieva, stating that she had not committed "any fault or negligence."

However, WADA and the International Skating Union (ISU) have appealed to CAS for a suspension of up to four years and the annulment of all her results since the positive test, including the team gold medal at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, which is the main issue as the United States currently hold the silver medal.

Questions

At the heart of the case are a few key questions. How did the banned substance get into the athlete's body? Was there a fault on the part of her team or a negligence on the part of Kamila Valieva? Who was responsible for anti-doping compliance in her team and what measures were taken to prevent this situation?

In the worse case scenario, Kamila Valieva could be banned for 4 years. The final sanction will be announced by CAS in the near future.