- Kamila Valieva's lawyers blamed her failed drug test on a mix-up with her grandfather's medicine, an IOC official said.
- Valieva has been the center of a doping scandal after testing positive for a banned drug last year.
- The skater has been cleared to compete, but will not be awarded medals if she wins, the IOC said.
Lawyers for Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva said that the teen athlete failed a doping test prior to the Beijing Olympics because of contamination with her grandfather's medicine, an Olympic official said Tuesday.
Part of Valieva's defense was that there had been a mix-up with "a product her grandfather was taking," said Denis Oswald, the International Olympic Committee's chair of the disciplinary commission, according to the Associated Press.
The teenage skating sensation tested positive for the banned heart drug trimetazidine on December 25. Trimetazidine is typically used to prevent angina attacks but is taken by some athletes to boost their endurance.
The 15-year-old's defense was heard during a closed-door hearing by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Sunday. The hearing was to determine whether Valieva would be allowed to continue competing at the Winter Games, Reuters reported.
Her lawyers did not specify how the alleged medicine mix-up happened.
Oswald, who previously led a commission investigating doping scandal cases in the Sochi 2014 Olympics, said Valieva's lawyers "presented elements that brought some doubts about her guilt," per The AP.
She clinched gold for Russia at the women's team event, but the IOC hasn't decided whether she'll be awarded the medal.
Valieva was cleared to skate in the women's individual event. However, the IOC said it would not give her any medals even if she secured a top 3 spot. The women's event concludes on Thursday with the free skate.
The decision to allow Valieva to continue competing has been condemned by several former Olympians, including figure skaters Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir, who said it was like "a slap in the face to the Olympic Games," and sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson, who was kicked off the US Olympic team last summer after testing positive for marijuana.
Former US Olympic skater Adam Rippon expressed sympathy for Valieva, saying he doubted the teenager "knowingly doped" ahead of the games. Mirai Nagasu, a retired US Olympic skater, said she "felt a lot of empathy" for the young Valieva but said athletes should be kept accountable.
Valieva told Russian state media Channel One on Monday: "These days have been very difficult for me. I'm happy, but I'm tired emotionally," per Reuters.