“Happy to be on the ice” Kamila Valieva skates for first time since Beijing

Russian teenage figure skater Kamila Valieva competed for the first time over the weekend since her controversial appearance at the Beijing 2022 Games.

Valieva, 15, said she was “happy to be on the ice” while skating at the Channel One Trophy in Saransk, Russia.

She was a favorite to win gold in Beijing and did help the Russian Olympic Committee team finish first, for now, in the team event. Valieva was suspended after it was revealed she tested positive for trimetazidine, a banned heart medication, back in December 2021. The results of that test were not revealed until the Beijing Games had already begun in February.

The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) lifted Valieva’s suspension, only for the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Skating Union (ISU) to all file an appeal against RUSADA lifting the ban.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled in favor of RUSADA and she was allowed to continue to skate in Beijing. She was favored to win gold in the individual competition, but fell several times and ultimately finished fourth.

There was no tears over the weekend though as Valieva finished second in the free skate program at the makeshift event, less than three points behind Olympic gold medalist Anna Shcherbakova.

While the rest of the world’s best skaters competed in the world championships in France, Russia hosted the Channel One Trophy for Russian skaters who have been banned from competing in the world championships due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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