Russian Media Portrayal of Kamila Valieva: She's a good girl and worthy champion. Fans welcome her
USA Media Portrayal of Kamila Valieva: there's nothing really to say about that
it's shameful
Russian TV: The media was very very quick to condemn the Russian athletes once again
even before any decision was made by the court
why do you think that was?
Taiwanese media portrayal: (Interview of Russian public) How could they do that to a young 15 years old? She has been framed..
Korean TV: Stay silent throughout Kamila Valieva's performance as a form of boycott
Meanwhile, China media "Kamila Valieva is allowed to compete. Let's guess what doll is she holding?"
are you okay?
So the doping scandal involving team Russia Olympic Committee's Kamila Valieva had unfortunately clouded the entire Olympic games in Beijing this year
one of the most heated debates was centered around whether she should have been allowed to continue the competition
after the positive doping test results
if you are able to read multiple languages, you will find shockingly vast different reactions from different countries around the globe
so different that you started questioning if they are indeed talking about the same issues
so in this video, let's do a recap of the entire Kamila Valieva doping scandal
and check out the reaction from fans from different countries
let's take a look!
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figure skating
Kamila Valieva's doping scandal from fans perspectives to watch
on Monday, February 7th 2022, Russia's Kamila Valieva made headlines all over the world
by becoming the first woman in Olympic history to land the ratified quadruple jumps
helping her native country to secure gold in the team event
Team USA came in second
at that point, the media went into a frenzy about this 15 years old
praising her historic achievements
for people who just tune into watching skating in the Olympic games,
they even thought Kamila is the first lady to land any quadruple jump
meanwhile, hardcore skating fans like us felt so unfair for Sasha Trusova and Anna Shcherbakova
because they are the ones who landed those quadruple jumps back in 2017
way before Kamila came into the scene
they were brutally left out from the team event
but our unfair feelings didn't last long
on February 9th, less than two days later,
the medal ceremony for the team event was delayed for an unknown legal issue according to the international Olympic committee
the situation arose today at short notice which requires legal consultation with the ISU.
I can't give you any more details because I don't actually know it
but we will be doing our level up most to make sure is resolved as quickly as possible
there were a lot of circulations around at that point
one of the most absurd speculations was from Russia's Sport Express
they reported that the medal ceremony was cancelled because the Russian skater, Andrei Mozalev had received death threats from fans of Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu
Mozalev have skated before Hanyu in the men's short program earlier
some fans speculated that he made a hole on the ice and made Hanyu miss a jump
this absurd speculation was debunked shortly after with something that blew the entire world, not just the figure skating community
on February 10t, Thursday morning, figures skating spectators at the Beijing games woke up to a news as big as a bomb dropped
both USA today and the Guardian reported first that
the medal ceremony for the figure skating team event was called off because of a positive drug test of a Russian minor skater
though they didn't name the skater, Kamilla's photo was posted big and wide
within hours, various media followed suit and further reported the name of the banned drug detected, Trimetazidine
well, the detected banned substance, Trimetazidine is usually used to treat heart disease and angina
but it may also help athletes recover from strenuous training
that was the day of the men's free skate
you can imagine the chaos these news brought like a bomb overshadowing the Men's event
one reporter even had the audacity to ask Hanyu to comment on this doping issue
when he just finished his long program and could barely recoup from his loss in the games
About the doping suspicion
oh I think I don't have any
any idea to say but
I don't know. What can I say?
Anything you know about it?
but I think all the skaters
all the skaters did their best for skating, so that's all
while the IOC refused to comment further on that matter, some athletes called for the media to stop speculating
but all these had unfortunately added to even more speculation
various fans jump into the debates at that point
some called it politically motivated
some called for Russia to be banned
some jumped into Kamila's defense
and that day ended with rampant speculation but no conclusion
on Friday, February 11th, after over a day of speculation,
the International Testing Agency had finally released a statement confirming Kamila's positive doping test results
and explained the entire incident
International Testing Agency has confirmed that a banned substance was found in a sample taken from Russian figure skater, Kamila Valieva back in December
reading this statement, many new sport fans would easily get confused because there were so many organizations involved
I will try my best to explain the different organizations involved here
the International Skating Union or ISU oversee the competitive ice skating competitions and rules
which we skating fans are certainly very familiar with
well, the International Olympic Committee or IOC is pretty much self-explanatory
they organize the summer and winter olympic games
all athletes are subjected to the doping test governed by the World Anti-doping Agency known as WADA,
a foundation initiated by the IOC to oversee drugs testing around the world
the very first time I was ever tested I was 14 and I was the random
I was like 10th in my event and they're like "hey you're going to get drunk tested!"
I was like "for what? I'm 14."
and then I read on things and I was like "okay, I understand what you mean now"
so WADA delegates work to each country's national anti-doping organizations
and gives accreditation to their laboratories for conducting the required doping tests
Russian anti-doping agency (RUSADA) was affiliated with WADA
However, as the Russia state-sponsored doping schemes unfolded
WADA severed his ties with RUSADA
since Rusada is rendered as non-compliant by the world anti-doping agency,
Rusada had to send the sample to an accredited laboratory in Stockholm, Sweden
and ROC referred to the Russian Olympic committee
because of the state-sponsored doping case, Russia was banned for the Olympics and major championships for four years
individual athletes from Russia can only compete under the name of ROC
there are just so many organizations involved and there's bound to be disagreements among them
so if there is any dispute, the ultimate jurisdiction will be given by the Court of Arbitration for Sport,
an international body mandated by the statutes of WADA to settle disputes in doping related cases
I hope you are still with me at this point
now, why is the International Testing Agency, ITA releasing the statements and not WADA?
the answer may lie in a complex web of politics and power in sports
that's because WADA is not in itself without scandals and controversy
WADA's independence is questionable
In a documentary released by "The Economist"
they questioned WADA's independence
as WADA's funding rely solely on their members government funding and IOC,
who would try to assert their control and power
when you lose control, you lose the ability to dictate the outcomes
As WADA became stronger, there was resistance from the Olympic movement where there was a desire to have more control
As the conflict of interest between these anti-doping and sporting agencies came under fire,
especially during the Russian state-sponsored doping scandal
WADA and IOC created another organization named the International Testing Agency
to conduct independent testing for the athlete
ITA is the appointed agency for anti-doping control during the Olympic games
so they are the one releasing the statements in Kamila's case
now that we are clear of what each organization does, let's come back to Kamila's doping case
So according to ITA, here is what happened
on December 25th 2021,
drug sample was collected from Kamila by RUSADA at the 2022 Russian figure skating championships in St. Petersburg, Russia
and sent to a WADA accredited lab in Sweden for testing
meanwhile, Kamila skated two perfectly clean programs
and won the Russian national title with close to 40 points lead over second place finisher, Sasha Trusova, which guaranteed her Olympic spot
and on January 15, 2022, Kamila skated in the European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia and won again
there was no word on her doping test results taken from the Russian Nationals 20 days ago
meanwhile, her doping test results in this European Championships had came back clean
really according to the protocol, a result from a doping probe should be conducted within 20 days
that means it should have been conducted by January 15th the latest,
before Beijing and even before the European skating championship
On February 7th, Kamila won gold in the figure skating team event
the next day, WADA notified RUSADA of the positive doping test results
RUSADA was following the international protocol and immediately suspended Valieva from further participation in the Olympic games
but the athlete filed an appeal and asked for an expedited process
and on February 9th, RUSADA allowed Valieva to continue her participation in the Olympic games
so on February 11th, ITA confirmed Kamila's failed doping test
and also revealed that RUSADA's action of lifting Kamila's suspension was in dispute
and that IOC, WADA, and ISU were appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, calling for Kamila's suspension to be reinstated
at this point, it is important to not get confused
RUSADA and ROC allowed Kamila to skate
but IOC, WADA, and ISU didn't agree
so they sued RUSADA, ROC and Kamila at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) according to WADA's mandate
and CAS will have the final say on that
on Monday, February 14th,
after a weekend of rampant speculations
chaos among skaters, news reporters, fans and six hours of arbitration by CAS
here's their decision
the CASpanel in charge of this matter
has decided to let Ms. Valieva to continue her participation in the Olympic winter games, Beijing 2022.
In the statement released, a few key factors contributed to the final decision
1. She's a minor and considered protected person under the WADA code which guaranteed lower sanctions
2. It would be considered "irreparable damage" for not allowing her to continue to compete
Lastly, consideration was given on the late notification of the results which left Kamila unable to defend herself
and the fact that the test result came back so
late
what do you read into that?
the rules are clear, it must be within 20 days
and they waited so long
and the explanation for the delay is COVID related delay
I don't believe that
it's strange that it's been delayed to such a peculiar date
on a side note, let's not forget there were at least 7 women vying for that 3 Olympic spots
and team ROC would come in strong even without Kamila Valieva, as they also had a podium sweep in the world championships 2021
Had the results been delivered in time, most likely team ROC would have just replaced Kamila with Elizaveta Tuktameshyva
and they would achieve almost the same results
after this decision was released, Kamila seems relieved
It wasn't easy for me
But I guess it's something I have to go through
but a new wave of criticism ensued
most athletes from the US strongly condemned this decision
one of the most prominent cases is from an American track and field sprinter,
Sha'Carri Richardson, who was suspended from the Tokyo Olympics 2020 for marijuana use
tweeted racism and double standards
but as many people had already pointed out, there is nothing similar between these two doping cases
as she was banned way before the Olympic games started
a more similar reference would be from Jessica Calalang, an American pair skater
After earning a trip to Stockholm for the 2021 world championships by winning silver in the US nationals
she was suspended by USADA after testing positive for a banned substance
it took them eight months of investigation to prove that's a contamination case due to the lotion she used
even though she was cleared of doping eventually, that suspension had surely caused her team irreparable harm for
missing the world championship and jeopardized her chance of qualifying for the Olympics
however, it's important to note her suspension was handed over by USADA, the US Anti-doping Agency
and maybe that's one of the reasons why USADA was so worked up about RUSADA lifting Kamila's suspension and threatened to sue
America's anti-doping chief is already floating the idea of suing Russian athletes
saying he's ready to use an anti-doping law that allows US authorities to prosecute foreign athletes or officials outside the country
another skater who did not feel so good about this decision is Korea's Yelim Kim
Really? (She's allowed to compete?)
Honestly, I don't feel so good about it
As a skater, I don't feel good because it's unfair
and she has every right to feel that way
she was penalized for missing a doping test during the ISU junior grand prix in Yokohama at the age of 13.
In a release statement by ISU, they stated being a minor at 13 years old is irrelevant according to the ISU anti-doping rules
even though she did not face any suspension, she received stern warning
the athlete and Korean Skating Union had to bear the full cost of proceedings
so that's probably one of the reasons which turned Korean skating queen, Yuna Kim vocal about this unfair decision
both the US and Korean media stayed silent throughout Kamila's short program as a form of protest
what this case highlights is also the inconsistency of ISU anti-doping rules versus the WADA codes
however, if you surf online beyond Russian, English and Korean, you will see more divisive opinions from fans in other languages
some support the decision of letting her skate while some disagree
however, reactions of fans from these two regions are surprisingly supportive of Kamila
under the video
published by the Mexican channel, Marca Claro, you will find a shocking wave of support for Kamila in Spanish
another voice of shocking support for Kamila came from the Chinese fans community
but they seem to be supporting it for different reasons
some simply support it because Kamila is cute and they are fans
while some were supporting Kamila because of sympathy
and similarity they found between the doping cases of Kamila and three-time Olympic Champion and iconic sports star in China, Sun Yang
the Chinese swimmer was the first athlete found guilty for using Trimetazidine, the same banned substance found in Kamila's doping test
when it was newly added into the WADA banned substance list back in 2014
it was a very high profile case which led to a series of incidents and lawsuits that lasted over seven years
even though he had received and served his punishment, he's continuously picked out for all doping tests by WADA
I didn't know I have been picked out for drug tests for around 200 times by WADA
and constantly subjected to public criticism
Mark Horton's long-running feud with China's Sun Yang
more controversy at the world swimming championships
he is a drug cheat
I just won't share a podium with someone who behaves in the way that he has
while his fans would believe he's been framed and support him no matter what
Sun Yang's fans: Wish him happiness and health always
Now, after reading through all the doping cases in multiple languages and from different perspectives
one thing we learned is that determining a doping is never as simple as a positive drug test
it is a battle of some of the world's top pharmacists and sport leaders
In 2011, an anonymous survey asked more than 1200 athletes whether they'd used performance-enhancing drugs
44% admitted to doping
but typically only one to two percent of samples test positive
What will further investigation into Kamila Valieva's doping case reveal?
Did she dope?
who's responsible?
what's the truth?
we have no idea..
there's no such thing as truth, everyone has their own truth
but just like Sun Yang's case, no matter how Kamila's case is concluded,
this doping scandal will leave a scar in her career forever
Alright, that's it for our video today
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Thank you