- Russian President Vladimir Putin defended Kamila Valieva, the Russian figure skater at the center of a doping scandal at the 2022 Olympics.
- Putin said the teen's figure skating performance could not have been done on drugs.
- "Such perfection cannot be achieved dishonestly, with the help of some additional means," Putin said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin defended disgraced Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva by saying her Olympic performance could not have been accomplished because of drugs.
"Such perfection cannot be achieved dishonestly, with the help of some additional means, manipulations…. We understand and know this very well," Putin said during a televised meeting with Russian Olympic medalists, according to AFP.
"The whole country, figure skating fans all over the world, were especially worried about Kamila," he added.
Valieva entered the 2022 Beijing Winter Games as the frontrunner to win gold in women's figure skating events. But the 15-year-old's eligibility to compete came under question after news emerged that she'd failed a drug test in December.
She'd tested positive for trimetazidine, a drug the World Anti-Doping Agency categorizes as a "hormone and metabolic modulator," according to The Associated Press. When taken without proper cause, the drug can bolster endurance and improve circulation. Both effects could give a high-level figure skater a competitive advantage.
Valieva was initially banned from competition after her team won gold, but an arbitrator ultimately determined she could continue to compete. Many close to the sport slammed the decision to keep the young star in the field, especially after multiple outlets reported that Valieva had tested positive for two additional heart drugs in the December 25 sample she provided.
Only trimetazidine has been banned from the Olympics, but the other two — hypoxen and L-carnatine — raised concerns from anti-doping officials and called into question Valieva's excuse that she'd mixed up her medications.
"It raises a whole host of questions that have yet to be determined and what appears to be the case of a pretty deliberate attempt to use substances in order to enhance performance," US Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart told CNN at the time of the games.
Before the results of her drug test came to light, Valieva was off to a strong start to the Olympics and even made history during her first event. She became the first woman to land a quadruple jump in an Olympic competition during the team event.
But in light of Valieva's positive test, the International Olympic Committee has said it will not award medals in the team event — which athletes of the Russian Olympic Committee won — until the doping situation is resolved. (The country was competing under a neutral banner of ROC because of sanctions stemming from its state-sponsored doping program that came to light in 2016.)
Valieva's Olympic performances suffered considerably after her initial team skate. She fell multiple times during her final solo skate after the doping allegation came to light, and her infamous coach yelled at her on live television for giving up while completing her routine.
She plummeted to fourth place in the event. As her scores were announced, Valieva buried her head in her hands and sobbed.
Still, when she returned home to Russia, she was greeted to a hero's welcome. And it appears as though the Russian Olympic Committee has Putin's blessing to defend Valieva's "honestly won" Olympic gold medal, as it had previously vowed to do."
But Valieva won't be featured in international events anytime soon, as the International Skating Union has banned Russian and Belarusian ice skaters from competing after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.