- ROC figure skater Kamila Valieva failed to medal in the women's free skate at the Beijing Olympics.
- Valieva has been in the midst of a doping controversy after testing positive for a banned substance.
- NBC's Tara Lipinski said Valieva should never have been allowed to continue competing.
Former Olympic figure skater Tara Lipinski said that Kamila Valieva — the 15-year-old Russian Olympic Committee figure skater at the center of a doping scandal at the Beijing Winter Olympics — should have never been allowed to compete during her commentary after Valieva fell in the women's free skate program.
"I can't imagine how tough this has been on Kamila," said Lipinski, who is a commentator for NBC Sports at the Olympic Games. "It makes me angry that the adults around her weren't able to make better decisions and guide her and be there for her because she's the one now dealing with the consequences."
Lipinski added: "And she's just 15 and that's not fair. But again, with that being said, she should not have been allowed to skate in this Olympic event."
It surfaced earlier this month that Valieva tested positive for three medications used to treat heart conditions in a drug test taken in December.
One of the medications — trimetazidine — is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency. The other two substances found in Valieva's testing sample were hypoxen and the supplement L-Carnatine.
Valieva's lawyers said she had tested positive for trimetazidine because of contamination with her grandfather's medicine.
Valieva was initially hit with a provisional suspension from Russia's anti-doping agency (RUSADA) after the positive test was revealed.
But the ban was overturned on February 9 following a swift appeal.
That decision was challenged by the International Olympic Committee and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled Monday that Valieva could continue compete in the Olympic Games.
In the days after the ban was lifted, Valieva's skating events became some of the most-hyped events of the games, drawing floods of reporters and fans.
The decision to let Valieva skate has created a firestorm at the Beijing Olympics, and there were calls throughout the figure skating community to ban her from competing because the positive test.
Lipinski had previously criticized the decision to let Valieva continue competing.
"I strongly disagree with this decision," Lipinski told NBC's Mike Tirico. "Clean sport is the only thing that matters at an Olympic Games."
She added: "What we love about an Olympic Games is that we get to marvel at humans pushing athletic limits and doing the impossible but with one caveat — to do it fairly and cleanly."
The IOC had ruled that if Valieva medalled in the women's free skate, there would not be a medal ceremony, another decision the figure skating world had called unfair to other skaters.
When Valieva finished in fourth place in the free skate, just off the podium, Lipinski said, "Thank goodness."