Russian Figure Skater tests positive for drugs - delays ceremony for team medals

[Lilia A]

Not to mention, the Romanians never denied giving the medication to Raducan and a few other girls who were also sick. There was no grandpa water cover up story. They straight up admitted that they messed up the dosage because Raducan shouldn't have been given the same dose as Amanar, who was an adult, or perhaps she shouldn't have been given anything at all. And while it's easy to see that people were sympathetic, people weren't exactly demanding that the medal be returned to her, except for fans and other Romanians. I remember an NBC broadcast a year after Sydney where Tim Daggett said something like "yeah I feel for her, but also, we were told to never take cold meds even when we were little kids, so there's that". It's not common for me to agree with Tim, but basically he was saying that she should be held accountable and that being young was not an excuse.

 

[her grace]

Raducan wasn’t tested after the team final; two of her teammates were.

Raducan’s substance wasn’t performance-enhancing, was allowed in low dosages, and isn’t even banned anymore. And she’s not getting her medal back. I hardly see how the Raducan case somehow validates Valieva.

 

[Karen-W]

@soogar - just to refresh the timeline of events, I've gone back to the 2022 Winter Olympics Kiss & Cry sub-forum here to review the exact timeline of information and discussion here from the end of the TE to the rejection of the appeal that allowed Valieva to compete in the Women's event (and a little extra from the last week of the Games).

Feb 6th - Vincent Zhou tests positive for Covid & misses the conclusion of the TE (Pairs FS, Dance FD, Women's FS) and the victory ceremony at the arena where the athletes received their podium pandas

Feb 7th - Valieva's positive doping test results received by RUSADA & reported to WADA, IOC & ISU
Feb 7th - Medal Ceremony delayed - no explanation offered by the IOC - speculation was so that the Men wouldn't have to be up late the night before their SP (which was scheduled for the morning of Feb 8th in Beijing due to NBC)

Feb 8th - First hint of some sort of issue surfaces in this tweet from a Russian source - https://twitter.com/valsedesfIeurs/status/1491060096163479554
Feb 8th - we had this post from @Ananas Astra - https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/threads/2022-olympics-team-event-day-3-baby-don’t-hurt-me-no-more.109388/post-6192175 - the Russian media was all over the delay
Feb 8th - the speculation all day long here on FSU was that there was some potential field-of-play challenge involving the timing of Zhou's positive Covid test and him being allowed to compete in the TE Men's FS on Feb 6th.
Feb 8th - Four of the Russian TE participants missed for their practices (Kondratiuk, Valieva, Mishina/Galliamov) - as reported in this thread the original tweet from CBC was later deleted - https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...hotos-practice-news-notes.109350/post-6192829
Feb 9th (Beijing time) - this tweet from reporter Devon Heroux - https://twitter.com/devin_heroux/status/1491287597142126598?s=21
Feb 9th (Beijing time) - FIRST report surfaces that there is a positive doping test and absolutely NO hint in that first report that it involved a protected person - https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1119022/beijing-2022-figure-skating-medal-delay
Feb 9th (Beijing time) - Sinitsina/Katsalapov show up for their practice - https://twitter.com/rockerskating/status/1491293179424886788?s=20&t=oZdnvvHt6fr6TDwS3wcvug
Feb 9th (Beijing time) - the first speculation I can find here on FSU (from @VGThuy, followed by an interesting conversation with @aka_gerbil ) that the doping violation might involve a minor - https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...hotos-practice-news-notes.109350/post-6192884

Feb 9th - Moskvina tells the press that MishGal's day off from practice was planned, leaving just Kondratiuk & Valieva to wonder/speculate about - https://www.sports.ru/figure-skatin...yamov-segodnya-ne-vyxodili-na-led-potomu.html
Feb 9th - Tweet from Sergei Lisin of Match TV - "a couple of people are telling me it's weed" - https://twitter.com/valsedesfieurs/status/1491337016134762497?s=21
Feb 9th - same account tweets that sportsru's hypothesis is "the legal counsel is necessary to define whether a figure skating team event should be considered a team sport and accordingly what consequenses the team faces if its member tests positive" - https://twitter.com/valsedesfIeurs/status/1491325184263213056
Feb 9th - this article from on sportsru - Sports lawyer Patsev: “If the test is positive, then it is announced immediately. The athlete is immediately expelled from the Olympic Village.” - https://www.sports.ru/figure-skatin...proba-polozhitelnaya-to-ob-etom-obyavlya.html
Feb 9th - Christine Brennan of USA Today is the first English-language press to identify Valieva "Russian newspaper RBC reported that Valieva tested positive for trimetazidine, a heart medication that has been banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency since 2014 because it can improve endurance and blood flow." - https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...-medals-delayed-russian-drug-test/6717526001/
Feb 9th - we get this gem from Dave Lease keying in on Shvetsky - https://twitter.com/SkatingLesson/status/1491388354524430337
Feb 9th - The Guardian's article - again, not specifically naming or focusing on Valieva - https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...ny-for-russian-figure-skating-winter-olympics
Feb 9th - Tweet from Brennan with an audio update - again, not naming Valieva, because she had not been identified by anyone officially - https://twitter.com/usatodaysports/status/1491401509942304776
Feb 9th - insidethegames confirms the RBC report in the Russian press which was picked up by Brennan - it's Valieva - https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1119043/valieva-legal-problem-beijing-2022
Feb 9th - Sportsru confirms the substance and when the doping violation occurred - https://www.sports.ru/figure-skatin...lievoj-nashli-trimetazidin-vasilij-konov.html
Feb 9th - Sportsru has the first denial from Team Eteri - https://www.sports.ru/figure-skatin...probe-valievoj-ne-veryu-eto-provokacziya.html
Feb 9th - Dan Wetzel of MSN writes this article and makes the first mention I can find of Valieva's "Protected Person" status - https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/wi...ontroversy/ar-AATF2Wh?li=AAL2Bz4&ocid=DELLDHP
Feb 9th - this article from Sport-Express.ru states no decision has been made but an official IOC statement at 13:00 local Beijing time is expected - https://www.sport-express.ru/olympi...ranili-ot-individualnyh-sorevnovaniy-1889737/
Feb 9th - Vlad Zhukov, a Russian reporter, issued this comment on his Telegram, which was picked up in the Russian press - "You will not believe it, but the situation around the doping test of Kamila Valieva began to turn in a positive direction. There have been some positive developments for us. How positive is the question. There should be an official tomorrow. We wait." - https://t.me/lapidarnst/2630
Feb 9th - just gonna throw out there that the VAST majority of posters in the KnC discussion thread are sympathetic to Valieva, with a full expectation that she'll be able to return once she serves out any ban
Feb 9th - we get our first "this is false!" claim from former Russian skaters/coaches - https://www.instagram.com/p/CZwyQ1-KsI0/?utm_medium=copy_link
Feb 9th - further discussion on FSU focuses on whether or not trimetazidine is a recreational drug (it's not) and how its use could benefit skaters
Feb 9th - this op-ed from Barstool Sports (US media outlet) focuses what really matters - this is a FIFTEEN year old girl who has, in essence, been abused by her coaches & support team - https://www.barstoolsports.com/blog...-skate-her-way-to-gold-test-positive-for-peds
Feb 9th - continued discussion on FSU questions whether or not there was some sort of error in filing for a TUE (Therapeutic Use Exemption) for the drug for Valieva
Feb 9th - Christine Brennan tweets that "officials have been told the Russian athlete who tested positive is a minor. There was only one minor in the team competition for Russia: women’s gold medal favorite Kamila Valieva." https://twitter.com/cbrennansports/status/1491569514894483464
Feb 9th - NBC evening Olympic broadcast - they do not mention Valieva's name because "the identity of the athlete has not been confirmed" - https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...mpic-team-medals-ceremony.109401/post-6194354
Feb 9th - CBC evening Olympic broadcast - "naming Valieva as the skater in question. They didn’t go too far into it, not really driving the story too hard." - https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...mpic-team-medals-ceremony.109401/post-6194992
Feb 9th - Women's practice is shown on Peacock - Valieva shows up - this seems to confirm to most FSUers that she's not getting disqualified
Feb 9th - Live update of the IOC daily press briefing where Mark Adams refused to confirm anything other than there was a delay - https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1119052/beijing-2022-winter-olympics-day-6
Feb 9th - NBC evening Olympic broadcast - finally confirms that it was Valieva & the test happened prior to the Olympics
Feb 9th - Yahoo article about the Russian press reaction - https://sports.yahoo.com/ioc-and-fi...an-star-kamila-valievas-doping-043547370.html

Feb 10th (Beijing time) - official ISU statement released - they cannot and will not comment at this time - https://isu.org/isu-news/news/145-n...nt-figure-skating-team-event?templateParam=15
Feb 10th - fs-gossips.net (translates Russian skating news media) reports that Valieva's temporary suspension has been lifted - https://fs-gossips.com/kamila-valie...s-decision-to-cas-sports-agent-andrei-mitkov/
Feb 10th - @Andrey aka Pushkin gives a very detailed summation of what his Russian sources were saying regarding the situation - https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...mpic-team-medals-ceremony.109401/post-6196721
Feb 10th - @Andrey aka Pushkin makes another great follow-up post about the role the journalists played in the saga so far and how the information could have leaked - https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...mpic-team-medals-ceremony.109401/post-6196763
Feb 10th - @Andrey aka Pushkin tells us what is next (and mentions the worse case scenario is a 4 year ban but thinks this is highly unlikely - for what it's worth, I'm of the opinion that had RUSADA not dragged this out well past the deadline imposed by WADA then they wouldn't be asking for the 4-year ban - they're pissed right now, with good reason) - https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...mpic-team-medals-ceremony.109401/post-6196778
Feb 10th - and we have our first piece of Russian propaganda on the subject, shared by @Frau Muller - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9ZhrxA5iCE
Feb 10th - by this point, there was a definite rising sentiment here on FSU, as the reports surfaced that Valieva would be allowed to compete in the Women's event, that Russia was getting away with cheating again because the IOC was scared of/in bed with them
Feb 10th - the first US/western-based media article to go negative about Team Eteri's skaters and the potential of a larger doping operation - https://www.vox.com/22927130/kamila-valieva-doping-trimetazidine-ban-olympics-2022
Feb 10th - @Andrey aka Pushkin characterizes insidethegames as a "British tabloid" and then clarifies that was the term used by his source - https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...mpic-team-medals-ceremony.109401/post-6197276
Feb 10th - @Andrey aka Pushkin reports that his source says the timeframe for the delayed test results is possible - https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...mpic-team-medals-ceremony.109401/post-6197328
Feb 10th - more discussion and focus on Shvetsky's role on Team Eteri

Feb 11th (Beijing time) - International Testing Agency confirms Valieva's identity and the date of the positive test - https://mobile.twitter.com/Devin_Heroux/status/1491975061171064836
Feb 11th (Beijing time) - ITA confirms that RUSADA provisionally suspended Valieva then lifted the suspension one day later - https://twitter.com/jtoneysbeat/status/1491972471230111750?s=21
Feb 11th (Beijing time) - Devin Heroux tweets that sources tell him Valieva's B sample hasn't been tested yet - https://twitter.com/Devin_Heroux/status/1491987584834326529
Feb 11th (Beijing time) - NBC article confirming there is an appeal of RUSADA's action - https://www.nbcnews.com/news/olympi...-kamila-valieva-can-keep-skating-be-rcna15838
Feb 11th (Beijing time) - Brennan tweets that the IOC is hoping to win their appeal to remove Valieva from practices and future competition - https://twitter.com/cbrennansports/status/1491992937034625034?s=21
Feb 11th (Beijing time) - US media tone shifts toward Valieva - https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/10/sport/kamila-valieva-roc-drugs-test-olympics-spt-intl-hnk/index.html
Feb 11th (Beijing time) - discussion on FSU begins to ask how long a ban would last for Valieva given her "Protected Person" status and why the B sample hasn't been tested yet
Feb 11th (Beijing time) - media coverage of all of the Russian women, but especially Valieva, intensifies at their next practice - https://twitter.com/valsedesfIeurs/status/1492014017145151493?s=20&t=npFSbjFJ4VfQ4OZ9Sk2ULw
Feb 11th (Beijing time) - Nancy Armour writes this op-ed which basically says the IOC deserves this furor because they've not dealt harshly with Russia's prior scandals - https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...amila-valieva-ioc-sochi/6733052001/?gnt-cfr=1
Feb 11th (Beijing time) - L'equipe picks up on the story - https://www.lequipe.fr/Patinage-art...urait-ete-utilisee-par-kamila-valieva/1316444
Feb 11th - @Andrey aka Pushkin posts an update regarding the process from his trusted sources - https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...mpic-team-medals-ceremony.109401/post-6198013
Feb 11th - WADA confirms to insidethegames they are appealing to CAS - https://twitter.com/insidethegames/status/1492084129931923480
Feb 11th - WADA publicly states they believe their code has been incorrectly applied in this case - https://twitter.com/wada_ama/status/1492081104102334496?s=21
Feb 11th - ISU statement confirming they will join WADA's appeal - https://www.isu.org/isu-news/news/1...22-team-event-figure-skating?templateParam=15
Feb 11th - Adam Rippon tweet "the adults around her have completely failed her" - https://twitter.com/AdamRippon/status/1492113667785211907
By this point this is the top sports story across all of the French & German press per @millyskate and @Primorskaya's posts, and it's front page news for all major US media outlets (WaPo, NYT, USAToday, etc)
Feb 11th - @Ka3sha reports that RUSADA's latest press release states "they initiated an official investigation into the athlete's personnel" - https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...mpic-team-medals-ceremony.109401/post-6198191
Feb 11th - Brennan op-ed calling for Valieva to be suspended from participating in the rest of the Olympics (subscriber only) - https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...-winter-olympics-doping/6746351001/?gnt-cfr=1
Feb 11th - fs-gossips reports that the CAS Ad Hoc decision will be made within 24 to 48 hours - https://fs-gossips.com/rusada-lifte...-the-decision-will-be-made-until-february-15/
Feb 11th - CTV news report on the story - https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=HO5FfOi4CP0
Feb 11th - and the political cartoonists begin weighing in - https://www.gocomics.com/stevebreen...1IvSj9LkJUX-q8ob5MbDWT9jXE8NFWiu8zqMim_b9kZus
Feb 11th - first English-language report confirming the information fs-gossips had reported (from Reuters) - https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/s...losed-door-boardroom-not-ice-rink-2022-02-11/
Feb 11th - tweet from Jackie Wong confirming the RUSADA investigation into Team Eteri - https://twitter.com/rockerskating/status/1492169377592061953
Feb 11th - and then we have reports of death threats being made against the insidethegames team - https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...journalists-receive-death-threats-from-russia
Feb 11th - Romain Haguenauer goes on record confirming the suspicions most of the skating world has had regarding Team Eteri - https://twitter.com/tchaikovskaya/status/1492161946560389129?s=20&t=ruBuaagFYY_SIRjS2PR9mQ
Feb 11th - Ted Barton replies to a retweet of something he said in Dec 2020 saying "yes, this is all my fault" and the ensuing uproar from outraged fans drives him off of Twitter entirely within hours to the amusement of many FSUers
Feb 11th - German media also picking up on the sketchy past of Shvetsky - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esYacXAqNjA
Feb 11th - per @Perky Shae Lynn the hashtag #позорТутберидзе (Shame on Tutberidze) is trending on Twitter - https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...mpic-team-medals-ceremony.109401/post-6199082
Feb 11th - official appeal filed - https://www.tas-cas.org/en/general-...-by-the-ioc-and-wada-against-the-decision-is/
Feb 11th - ROC response to the appeal - https://olympic.ru/en/news/lenta/the-roc-official-statement-2/
Feb 11th - insidethegames article stressing Valieva's protected person status and her welfare is central to the appeal - https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1119120/michael-pavitt-valieva-beijing-2022-case
Feb 11th - Dick Pound of the COC says it may be necessary for Russia to have a "time out" from the Olympics - https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/...ussian-figure-skater-kamila-valieva-1.6349391

Feb 12th - insidethegames reports that the Valieva hearing will be on Feb 13th - https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1119133/updates/72919
Feb 12th - CAS Ad hoc Division update - https://www.tas-cas.org/en/general-...-the-arbitrations-relating-to-kamila-valieva/
Feb 12th - NYT article with quotes from Eteri claiming Valieva's innocence - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/11/sports/olympics/valieva-doping-coach-clean.html
Feb 12th - Sportsrbc.ru article with quotes from Lakernik indicating he is fine with & trusts the CAS panel - https://sportrbc.ru/news/620797b59a7947c81dcc219c
Feb 12th - Guardian article detailing Eteri's interview with Channel 1 - https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...as-coach-breaks-her-silence-on-doping-scandal
Feb 12th - meanwhile, Valieva continued to struggle in practices per multiple reports in various media outlets

Feb 13th - @tony reports that the Valieva hearing is still going on (very late into the night in Beijing) - https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...mpic-team-medals-ceremony.109401/post-6201694
Feb 13th - reports surface about Shvetsky's "Xenon gas" patent - https://twitter.com/SkatingScores/status/1492897537702965250
Feb 13th - Irish Times article on the Xenon (and Argon) gas usage by Russian Sochi athletes - https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/ot...mit-xenon-doping-at-winter-olympics-1.1923195

Feb 14th (Beijing time) - CAS hearing finished in Beijing at 3:30am local - https://twitter.com/tariqpanja/status/1492944461286064131?s=20&t=TYqPDI67_8RI19VzPhQ2EQ
Feb 14th (Beijing time) - media camped out as the CAS panel walked into and out of the hotel conference room where the hearing was held - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bcH6c3m7Fhk
Feb 14th (Beijing time) - press release from CAS that their decision will be announced Feb 14th 2pm local Beijing time - https://www.tas-cas.org/fileadmin/user_upload/CAS_Ad_Hoc_Media_Release_Beijing_7.pdf
Feb 14th - lengthy article from US law firm KGR Law which predicts the CAS panel will allow Valieva to compete - https://kgrlaw.com/bock-why-kamila-...lympic-figure-skating-competition-on-tuesday/
Feb 14th - CAS decision announced - Valieva's age and the timing of the positive test result were the major determining factors in allowing her to compete in the Women's event - https://www.tas-cas.org/fileadmin/user_upload/CAS_Ad_Hoc_Media_Release_Beijing_8.pdf
Feb 14th - CAS director read the ruling in front of the media & refused to answer any questions - https://twitter.com/devin_heroux/status/1493104580158181386?s=21
Feb 14th - USOPC response - https://mobile.twitter.com/Devin_Heroux/status/1493107005061574658
Feb 14th - Brennan gets confirmation from the IOC that the TE medals are not likely to be resolved before the end of the Games - https://twitter.com/cbrennansports/status/1493070916821176320?s=21
Feb 14th - COC response - https://mobile.twitter.com/Devin_Heroux/status/1493123770911014915/photo/1
Feb 14th - in a now deleted tweet we get our first suggestion of the "Grandpa's backwash" defense that was presented to the CAS Ad hoc panel - https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...mpic-team-medals-ceremony.109401/post-6204532
Feb 14th - IOC confirms no TE medal ceremony & none in the Women's event if Valieva wins a medal - https://twitter.com/jamesgraysport/status/1493159818739150851?s=21
Feb 14th - IOC & ISU confirm that 25 women will qualify for the FS for the Women's event - https://twitter.com/rockerskating/status/1493174000188637185
Feb 14th - Yuna Kim tweets her displeasure with the CAS decision - https://www.instagram.com/p/CZ9CsSFJPpX/
Feb 14th - FSU is pretty outraged on behalf of the US and Japanese teams who will not get their medal ceremony in Beijing
Feb 14th - Johnny & Tara weigh in - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qU9KpsLYsSg
Feb 14th - another political cartoon - https://www.gocomics.com/mattdavies/2022/02/14
Feb 14th - German media source quoting Rodnina saying it's necessary to really get in and tidy up after Tutberidze - https://www.ardmediathek.de/video/s...Q0NTc4LTY2NTQtNDVjYi04ZjVhLTIzYzE3NTVkZDMzYg/
Feb 14th - Pravda confirms the "Grandpa's backwash" defense - https://english.pravda.ru/amp/sports/150323-kamila_valieva/

Feb 15th (Beijing time) - more information about the hearing itself from a Russian source - https://dossier-center.appspot.com/kamila/
Feb 15th - @Andrey aka Pushkin also confirms his sources state this is the official defense and gifts us this - - https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...mpic-team-medals-ceremony.109401/post-6207045
Feb 15th - first English-language article confirming the Grandpa's backwash defense - https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...drug-test-grandfathers-medication/6779576001/
Feb 15th - FSU goes nuts over the new emoji and laughs about how innocent we were a week earlier when we thought it was all the fault of Weed Jesus.
Feb 15th - NYT reports that Valieva's sample had three different heart meds in her system (the supplements that were also mentioned during the hearing) - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/14/sports/olympics/valieva-drug-test-heart-medications.html
Feb 15th - USOPC CEO tweet about Russia's disregard for clean sport - https://twitter.com/usopc_news/status/1493103118925516800?s=21
Feb 15th - AP article following the SP with comments from many other women in the event - https://apnews.com/article/winter-o...ports-russia-9d186e913a5f050ef4a9b43c790e14e8

Feb 16th - Scott Hamilton interview with MSN - https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/wi...nything-like-this/vi-AATT4Yn?ocid=mailsignout
Feb 16th - NYT article detailing Russia's recent rise to dominance in skating and other winter sports - https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1494044154875322373.html
Feb 16th - Yahoo!Sports article quoting Travis Tygart, head of USADA - https://sports.yahoo.com/kamila-val...tions-about-grandfather-excuse-111948368.html
Feb 16th - Bach tosses the Team USA skaters a bone with the gift of Beijing 2022 torches - https://apnews.com/article/winter-o...-bach-sports-21765316ac12ac759c7b29814fb34c7c
Feb 16th - Director of Japan's Anti-Doping Agency speaks to a reporter and, essentially, confirms the JOC doesn't agree with the CAS ruling either - https://www.jiji.com/jc/article?k=2022021700239&g=spo

Feb 17th - in the Kiss & Cry, Kamila says "at least they won't cancel the ceremony now." https://twitter.com/valsedesfIeurs/status/1494397419789950985?s=20&t=K2GVhVZo8fCXiDMza6latQ
Feb 17th - full CAS ruling on Valieva - https://www.tas-cas.org/fileadmin/user_upload/OG_22_08-09-10_Arbitral_Award__publication_.pdf
Feb 17th - the Russian media turns on the IOC - it's their fault what happened to Valieva in the Women's event - https://www.sport-express.ru/olympi...ochemu-mok-dolzhno-byt-stydno-mnenie-1893382/
Feb 17th - and the Russian propaganda machine continues - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2cPBt4PhoVU
Feb 17th - Axios article on the full CAS ruling - https://apple.news/AcuuEH4bdRd6sAcTSjcryfw

Feb 18th - Bach "takes rare shots at Russians" article from AP - https://apnews.com/article/winter-o...-bach-sports-eaf5fff6121b31723376969e9b214e9e

Feb 19th - USOPC appeal on behalf of Team USA skaters medal ceremony rejected - https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...edals-delayed-kamila-valieva-case/6859541001/
Feb 19th - CAS press release regarding the TE medal ceremony - https://www.tas-cas.org/fileadmin/user_upload/CAS_Ad_Hoc_Media_Release_Beijing_10.pdf
Feb 19th - one more political cartoon - https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-a.../public/LYEEHRZPGFEBXOY4ALHPNO7B74.jpg&w=1200

Feb 23rd - more Russian (government) propaganda - https://twitter.com/mod_russia/status/1494304905686835202?s=20&t=sxZ2Yl2myHUltE-YuA2q6g

You can thank me later for going through 125+ pages of posts here on FSU to provide you with an accurate timeline of events as they occurred in Beijing. I suppose it's understandable for one to forget what happened nine months ago, but I fail to see how the US/western based media (and certainly not here) was anything but respectful and sympathetic to Valieva or wanted her head on a platter from the very start of this scandal. Revisionist history, indeed, as the ROC and RUSADA continue to drag this scandal out far longer than it should have gone on because they're greedy jerks who are unwilling to give up their precious team gold medal even after THEY GOT CAUGHT DOPING a fifteen year old girl.

 

[On My Own]

Y'know I miss the time when I was just feeling jealous about not having any bing dwen dwen dolls.

 

[Wyliefan]

Good heavens. Anyone who ever does a book/film/podcast on this affair needs to come here and use this compilation as their basis!

 

[Sylvia]

Feb 19th - USOPC appeal on behalf of Team USA skaters medal ceremony rejected - https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...edals-delayed-kamila-valieva-case/6859541001/
Feb 19th - CAS press release regarding the TE medal ceremony - https://www.tas-cas.org/fileadmin/user_upload/CAS_Ad_Hoc_Media_Release_Beijing_10.pdf

I meant to, but never posted, the link to CAS' full decision ("Arbitral Award," 15 pages), dated 30 March 2022: https://www.tas-cas.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Award_22_11__publication_.pdf

You can thank me later for going through 125+ pages of posts here on FSU to provide you with an accurate timeline of events as they occurred in Beijing.

Just curious how long this took you?!

 

[Karen-W]

I never posted the link to CAS' full decision (15 pages), dated 30 March 2022: https://www.tas-cas.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Award_22_11__publication_.pdf

Just curious how long this took you?!

A few hours - I had plenty of time to kill this afternoon and motivated by our history revisionist's posts.

 

[Rukia]

@Karen-W I am giving you the FSU Research Award that I have no authority to give for that incredibly detailed timeline. Send it to all relevant authorities stat (but also throw in some of my comments about Weed Jesus that I don't even 100% remember if I made but if I did they were really killer).

 

[On My Own]

Didn't Galliamov also get thrown into the weed conversation briefly?

 

[Karen-W]

@Karen-W I am giving you the FSU Research Award that I have no authority to give for that incredibly detailed timeline. Send it to all relevant authorities stat (but also throw in some of my comments about Weed Jesus that I don't even 100% remember if I made but if I did they were really killer).

The Weed Jesus comments, I think, were mostly over in Sekret Sources at first, but then they wound up in the KnC discussion.

Didn't Galliamov also get thrown into the weed conversation briefly?

Oh, yes, he was, and he kept coming up as well as I went through the pages of the thread, but the whole Weed Jesus was a mere side distraction for all of about 3 hours, IIRC, because the story moved really fast the night of the 8th/morning of the 9th.

 

[myhoneyhoney]

Uh…….. who’s Weed Jesus again?!

 

[barbk]

You have mad researching skills, Karen. It was fascinating to go back and review a lot of those entries. Thanks!

 

[barbk]

Uh…….. who’s Weed Jesus again?!

Mark Kondratiuk (ETA: the Jesus part because he skated to Jesus Christ, Superstar)

 

[myhoneyhoney]

Mark Kondratiuk

Thanks!

I think I remember reading somewhere that Galliamov was high and that’s why he dropped Nastia

 

[Karen-W]

Thanks!

I think I remember reading somewhere that Galliamov was high and that’s why he dropped Nastia

That was one of the working theories going in the KnC discussion thread when word leaked out that the delay was due to a positive doping test.

 

[millyskate]

Yes a Russian journalist originally mentioned marijuana early on which led to the weed / Kondratiuk speculation but it didn’t last long.

 

[leilaofpaper]

Yes a Russian journalist originally mentioned marijuana early on which led to the weed / Kondratiuk speculation but it didn’t last long.

I thought it was a bad translation of the word drug in Russian which gave us weed.

 

[Primorskaya]

The Epic Post made me re-read what Andrey aka Pushkin wrote about the likely sequence of events. I was amused to read that (I paraphrase) the investigation will last a long time, during which she will likely keep a low profile. Cue her new LP

 

[quartz]

Holy shit @Karen-W.
I was off work for a day and a half and couldn’t even get 3 loads of laundry done.

 

[Karen-W]

The Epic Post made me re-read what Andrey aka Pushkin wrote about the likely sequence of events. I was amused to read that (I paraphrase) the investigation will last a long time, during which she will likely keep a low profile. Cue her new LP

Right? That and the information that "Shame on Tutberidze" was trending on Twitter in the early days, plus Rodnina basically saying that they needed to clean house & deal with Eteri shows just how much has changed in Russia since the 2nd week of February. Between this and the war, the Russian public really has shown just how susceptible they are to propaganda and gas-lighting.

 

[Karen-W]

Holy shit @Karen-W.
I was off work for a day and a half and couldn’t even get 3 loads of laundry done.

Oh, heck, I wouldn't be able to accomplish that either! This was a lot easier. I could just sit on my rear here on my sofa with the laptop and do the research.

 

[Primorskaya]

Right? That and the information that "Shame on Tutberidze" was trending on Twitter in the early days, plus Rodnina basically saying that they needed to clean house & deal with Eteri shows just how much has changed in Russia since the 2nd week of February. Between this and the war, the Russian public really has shown just how susceptible they are to propaganda and gas-lighting.

...and threats and pressure, in some cases.

 

[soogar]

@Karen-W I appreciate you putting a timeline yet you still left off Adam Rippon’s tweet calling Valieva a “Disgrace” and the overall tone to Tara and Johnny, being silent during Valieva’s skate and just saying “This is the skate of Valieva.” Oh, and Katarina Witt crying on German television on how Valieva didn’t have a chance (the lone sympathetic commentator). Those are just points that I remember that aren't on there. Christine Brennan went on TSL and said something along the like, "the Russians are the bad guys". The Olympics were lackluster with the lowest ratings, and NBC and company were doing its best to play up anti-Russian sentiment to generate some interest and failed.

 

[skatingguy]

@Karen-W Well you tried, but they've decided on what the narrative was, and it's pretty clear that all the facts in the world aren't going to shake them of their misconceptions.

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

Fantasy Island struck again

@soogar

You also failed to mention that Tara and Johnny both said that Valieva was a victim of the adults around her. That doesn't change the fact that she didn't belong on Olympic Ice after the failed doping test came out.

 

[On My Own]

@Karen-W I appreciate you putting a timeline yet you still left off Adam Rippon’s tweet calling Valieva a “Disgrace” and the overall tone to Tara and Johnny, being silent during Valieva’s skate and just saying “This is the skate of Valieva.” Oh, and Katarina Witt crying on German television on how Valieva didn’t have a chance (the lone sympathetic commentator). Those are just points that I remember that aren't on there. Christine Brennan went on TSL and said something along the like, "the Russians are the bad guys". The Olympics were lackluster with the lowest ratings, and NBC and company were doing its best to play up anti-Russian sentiment to generate some interest and failed.

Didn't Sandra Bezic and Scott Hamilton both have sympathy for her?

 

[coppertop1]

Didn't Sandra Bezic and Scott Hamilton both have sympathy for her?

Everyone did. The general consensus was that she's the victim but she shouldn't be allowed to skate because a failure doping test is still a failed doping test and it's not fair that anyone (including her) to her to skate.

Honestly, the gaslighting and manipulation by Russia and its fans is even worse than the scandal. They're trying to make us believe it never happened. It's disgusting.

Sandra Bezic reacts on TSL
Scott Hamilton reacts to the decision

 

[Vagabond]

Gaslighting can't usually be prevented, but it can be Ignored.

 

[Karen-W]

@Karen-W I appreciate you putting a timeline yet you still left off Adam Rippon’s tweet calling Valieva a “Disgrace” and the overall tone to Tara and Johnny, being silent during Valieva’s skate and just saying “This is the skate of Valieva.” Oh, and Katarina Witt crying on German television on how Valieva didn’t have a chance (the lone sympathetic commentator). Those are just points that I remember that aren't on there. Christine Brennan went on TSL and said something along the like, "the Russians are the bad guys". The Olympics were lackluster with the lowest ratings, and NBC and company were doing its best to play up anti-Russian sentiment to generate some interest and failed.

@soogar - I didn't go through the Olympics Women's FS pbp thread, where I think some of those comments and links to various video are located.

It wasn't really relevant to the timeline I set out to provide. Let me remind you exactly what you were arguing and stating, in your revisionist history, just yesterday.

They really go out of their way to make a scapegoat of this girl. A 15 year old does not decide on her own to take a heart medicine.

Who went out of their way to scapegoat her? It wasn't happening during the first week after the reports surfaced of a doping violation. Not in the western media, for sure. In fact, it was quite broadly stated by the likes of Adam Rippon and Romain Haguenauer that this was a Team Eteri operation - that the people AROUND Valieva were the ones responsible.

I do too, though I think there are measures in place to protect minors. I have lost respect for the IOC the way they went out of their way to make an example of her with complete disregard for her age. Minors are treated differently because of their age. The IOC as an organization should uphold the rules and regulations with regard to minors and protected person status. Instead, they go out of their way to single her out but withholding the team ceremony and then permit her to compete with the caveat that if she makes the podium, the entire podium will be denied a medal ceremony. I have never heard of this happening in prior Olympics. I believe they made that decision with the expectation that the Russian ladies would sweep the podium. The skateboarding competition had a bunch of 13 year olds competing, and diving 14 year olds. If that organization doesn't understand the concept of confidentiality and protecting a child's interests, then they should just raise the age to 18 across all disciplines and not deal with kids at all.

1) The IOC did NOT go out of their way to make an example of her and did everything they could to protect her. Perhaps your loss of respect should be directed toward the Russian media because that's who revealed her identity to the world. It took the ITA (Int'l Testing Agency) two full days to confirm Valieva's identity - precisely because they WERE doing their best to protect her identity - hence the IOC & ISU's initial consultation with lawyers. They were trying to figure this out as quickly as possible while protecting Valieva from unfair scrutiny.

2) Once the IOC made the decision that the results of the Women's event would be provisional until the Valieva investigation and appeals process was completed, they had every right to decide to not hold a medal ceremony. But, they didn't make THAT decision until after the CAS Ad hoc panel denied their initial appeal of RUSADA's lifting of the provisional suspension. What the timeline I provided shows is that the IOC would have much rather their appeal to CAS been upheld and Valieva kicked out of the Games. They want clean athletes and its their prerogative to withhold medals until they are certain that the correct athletes receive their medals.

3) Undoubtedly, yes, the IOC should have this conversation with its various sports federations. That was a sentiment expressed in the discussions here on FSU, mostly centered around the ISU's own proposal to increase the age minimum that would be voted upon at their Congress in June - and many of us said this situation would ensure that proposal passed with little opposition. But, as was noted by WADA in their initial appeal during the Olympics, the issue was not with the IOC, but instead with RUSADA's interpretation of WADA's Code. It is up to WADA to fix the language in their own Code with regard to provisional suspensions of "protected persons" which gave the CAS Ad Hoc panel the leeway to make the decision they made to allow Valieva to remain and participate in the Women's event.

You mean all the measures that were taken to ensure that her identity was not disclosed? Basically saying that the person in question had protected status and there was one minor on the team?

That is not what happened and the timeline I provided clearly demonstrates this. To this day, we do not know who disclosed her identity. What we do know is that 1) it was leaked to the Russian press, 2) the IOC/WADA/ISU/ITA refused, for over 48 hours, to confirm anything about the case, 3) it was the US media who first pointed out that Valieva was a "protected person", 4) it was the US media that first expressed concern and outrage over Valieva essentially being used and abused by, well, the whole Russian sports system.

Compare this circus with Andrea Raducan. She was stripped of her gold individual medal and the doctors were penalized. Interestingly enough, Romania was allowed to keep its team gold medal. She also received sympathetic press coverage as well, and everyone said, she is just a child. Contrast this with what happened to Valieva. They should have just awarded the team medals and had confidential hearing, especially since they decided that she could compete since there would be irreparable harm since she was favored to win the event. Things would have been very different if they had kept the matter under wraps, and the athletes would have had their medal ceremonies. Instead, there is this protracted process and this kid had to skate knowing that if she made the podium, the other two athletes would not have a ceremony. So before she is able to appeal and do more fact finding, the IOC already decided to proactively penalize her by not allowing her to participate in ANY ceremonies, and also penalize athletes who had nothing to do with the doping.

1) Yes, this was the sentiment here on FSU once we realized what was going on and multiple posters said it (myself included). The IOC did bungle this up, which is something that, unfortunately, happens in the moment.

2) That is not true. The IOC did not make ANY decisions about the Women's event until AFTER the appeal was heard. It only just occurred to me, in having gone through the timeline of events, that the IOC/ISU weren't well and truly pissed off until the hearing itself where the "Grandpa's backwash" defense was presented. It was so ludicrous that even @Andrey aka Pushkin's sources didn't believe that was really what Team Eteri/the ROC were going with. It is true that she had to skate in the Women's event knowing that if she won a medal, there wouldn't be a medal ceremony.

3) Yes, I'm sure that's whom you're most concerned about. None of your posts in recent days have expressed any worry about those other athletes until posters started pushing back on your revisionist history of what happened and when it happened.

They hadn't decided anything because there was no hearing. What's the timeline that I'm missing? They had an issue with a minor and they couldn't reveal anything because of her status. Then due to their public actions, they revealed her identity and subjected her to a media shitstorm. There was all this name calling and blame from US media on Kamila- more her than her coaches. This did not happen with Raducan. If we apply the same logic, how come the Romanian gymnast, who was older than Valieva at the time her infraction, was called a child and not blamed for what the doctor gave her, yet Valieva was called a "disgrace" and Tara said she should have known what she was taking. The 16 year old Romanian gymnast was a just a "child" and isn't expected to look at the label of her cold medicine to know what was in it, however 15 year old Valieva is supposed to know that she was taking a banned heart medicine.

Nope, not what happened. The Russian press were the ones who ID'd Valieva. Yes, the IOC screwed up in not moving forward with the TE medal ceremony, but it was the Russian press who started asking questions about why there was a delay, and they're the ones who didn't take "the IOC & ISU are consulting with lawyers regarding a legal issue" and leave it alone. The overwhelming sentiment in the US media was sympathy toward Valieva (Rippon's initial tweet), calling attention to Shvetsky (The Skating Lesson tweet), and pointing the finger directly at Tutberidze (Romain Haguenauer comments to the French media). The noticeable shift in the Valieva story's coverage occurred when it became clear that the ROC and RUSADA were going to do anything and everything to 1) allow her to compete in the Women's event, and 2) keep that TE gold medal.

This was, admittedly, a fast moving story, but your version of what happened is simply inaccurate.

Now, to circle back to your latest criticism/attempt at revisionist history...

@Karen-W I appreciate you putting a timeline yet you still left off Adam Rippon’s tweet calling Valieva a “Disgrace”

Which Adam Rippon tweet was that?

https://twitter.com/AdamRippon/status/1492113679785115653

https://twitter.com/AdamRippon/status/1493265374271340545

https://twitter.com/AdamRippon/status/1493265363223547905

https://twitter.com/AdamRippon/status/1493412332734541826

https://twitter.com/AdamRippon/status/1493595000441126928

https://twitter.com/AdamRippon/status/1493896404594348033

https://twitter.com/AdamRippon/status/1494319132623441926

Perhaps he deleted the tweet you're remembering because I don't see one where he calls Valieva "a disgrace".

and the overall tone to Tara and Johnny, being silent during Valieva’s skate and just saying “This is the skate of Valieva.”

What else were they supposed to say?

https://twitter.com/NBCOlympics/status/1493797375021826054

Oh, and Katarina Witt crying on German television on how Valieva didn’t have a chance (the lone sympathetic commentator).

Not true at all. See the video embedded in the tweet I linked above. Both Johnny & Tara were extremely sympathetic to Valieva. In fact...

‘Thank God’: Johnny Weir, Tara Lipinski don’t hold back after Kamila Valieva’s 2022 Olympics fall

Lipinski and Weir, who have been outspoken critics of The Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision to allow Kamila Valieva to compete, couldn’t believe their own eyes as an unprecedented scene of …

nypost.com

“I can’t imagine how tough this has been on Kamila and it makes me angry that the adults weren’t able to make better decisions and guide her and be there for her because she is the one now dealing with the consequences,” Lipinski said. “And she’s just 15 and that’s not fair. With that being said, she should not have been allowed to skate in this Olympic event.”

“On a human level I can’t imagine going through what she has been through,” Weir said, “but that doesn’t change the fact that she should’ve been nowhere near this competition. Every athlete at this level knows and understands that if you test positive for a banned substance you will not compete.”

“I don’t even know what to feel or think,” Lipinski said. “All the other athletes, what they’ve gone through this week. The possibility of there being no medal ceremony or podium, that’s what every little girl dreams of when they think of the Olympics.”

Weir called it “heartbreaking” to watch Valieva’s emotion as she went behind a curtain but said the “people around her should’ve kept her from competing here.”

“The court that ruled to allow Kamila to skate in this competition was worried about the ramifications on her mental health of not competing,” Weir said. “And I wonder what they are thinking now as to what just happened to Kamila Valieva.”

“I don’t know how you deal with that,” Lipinski, the gold medalist at the 1998 Winter Olympics, said. “I would’ve crumbled.”

Those are just points that I remember that aren't on there. Christine Brennan went on TSL and said something along the like, "the Russians are the bad guys".

Sure, she did, but she didn't call Valieva the bad actor in this mess - she called out the Russians. So, even you now admit that, despite what you tried to argue yesterday, the bad guys were Valieva's coaches & support team?

The Olympics were lackluster with the lowest ratings, and NBC and company were doing its best to play up anti-Russian sentiment to generate some interest and failed.

LOL - is that why NBC sent Johnny to Moscow the previous fall to film the never-aired Team Tutberidze piece? NBC was all-in on Valieva before the doping violation. They had the US audience primed to fall in love with her - and, trust me, after her TE skates, that was working. Anecdotally, all my non-skating fan friends who watched her skate in those events were massively impressed with her. There was no "anti-Russian" sentiment that NBC was trying to gin up, especially with respect to the ratings. In fact...

Worst. Olympics. Ever. | National Review

The worst Olympics in history are coming to a close.

www.nationalreview.com

Mike Tirico, NBC's Olympics anchor and mouthpiece, called out the IOC, the ROC, and WADA for failing Valieva and sport, the day after the Women's FS - https://thehill.com/homenews/media/...he-victim-of-the-villains-in-winter-olympics/.

“Portrayed by some this week as the villain, by others as the victim, she is, in fact, the victim of the villains,” Tirico said, referencing the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and the skater’s coaches.

“Whether they orchestrated, prescribed or enabled, all of this is unclear. But what is certain: They failed to protect her,” he added.

The World Anti-Doping Agency is investigating the coaches as International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach said that “doping is very rarely done alone with the athletes.”

“The deal that was brokered was supposed to ensure a level playing field while giving clean Russian athletes a chance to compete, but that scenario totally broke down here,” Tirico said. “Now, a failed drug test from one of their athletes has tarnished one of the marquee events of the Games and taken away from every skater’s moment.”

“Now, it’s time for the IOC to stand up,” Tirico added. “Whether it’s about blocking Russia from hosting events for a very long time, or stringent and globally transparent testing for Russian athletes going forward, if swift action from the top of the Olympic movement does not happen quickly, the very future of the Games could be in jeopardy.”

What about this commentary is anti-Russian exactly? I'd argue it's highly sympathetic to all of the CLEAN Russian athletes whose reputations are now also tarnished by this despicable situation and the way the ROC and RUSADA continue to behave and cling to that TE gold medal, no matter what. They could have and should have handled this far better than they have. They continue to cast suspicion on their entire sports program by dragging this out and obfuscating. If anyone is to blame for this mess it is not the media, nor is it the West. It's just a shame that the clean athletes, from ALL countries, are having their Olympic moments either stolen or called into question.

 

[On My Own]

1) The IOC did NOT go out of their way to make an example of her and did everything they could to protect her. Perhaps your loss of respect should be directed toward the Russian media because that's who revealed her identity to the world. It took the ITA (Int'l Testing Agency) two full days to confirm Valieva's identity - precisely because they WERE doing their best to protect her identity - hence the IOC & ISU's initial consultation with lawyers. They were trying to figure this out as quickly as possible while protecting Valieva from unfair scrutiny.

Well, they needed to get the anti-West propaganda going. And I wonder, in retrospect, if they started doing so because they knew what was coming on a different front. Figure skating is huge in Russia.