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

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Bouffantrex

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Ridiculous doesn't even begin to describe this issue. Assuming Russia loses their Ukrainian war in the next year, they must continue to be banned until the exhaust all likely appeals.

Reading Ms. Brennan's article, it's possible these medals won't be awarded until 2024. Perhaps maintaining Russia's banned status will motivate them to move this issue along at a faster pace than a late 90s Jennifer Robinson long program.
 
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AngieNikodinovLove

Frangi & Piazza & Paul & Hektor & Theo. Oh My! 😝
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^^^^^^ I need you to RUveal yourself. This post of yours definitely reminds me of someone I loved who posted here and was banned or left earlier this year
 

SkateFanBerlin

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Again, Russia will drag this out as long as possible, so like Sochi, it will just drift away. If the Russians never get their team medal but are able to return to ISU competitions they're probably OK with that.
 

Frau Muller

From Puerto Rico…With Love! Not LatinX!
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If RUSADA (Russia) indeed found wrongdoing, then why drag it out? The scuttlebutt is that Russia will accept it & move on…

I read this as: Time to cue the Stars & Stripes! 🇺🇸
 

Bigbird

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If RUSADA (Russia) indeed found wrongdoing, then why drag it out? The scuttlebutt is that Russia will accept it & move on…

I read this as: Time to cue the Stars & Stripes! 🇺🇸
If they found something, they had to try with all their vigor to explain it away. But maybe with all their efforts they just could not.

What if after all this Eteri is exonerated and it really was the actions of an overambitious mother?

This is the crying shame. Why would three heart medications be found in a 15 year old? Wouldn't that be overdoing it even by ET standards?

Absolutely awful situation.
 

Frau Muller

From Puerto Rico…With Love! Not LatinX!
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….

What if after all this Eteri is exonerated and it really was the actions of an overambitious mother?
I’m beginning to feel that she will not be exonerated. That big new Sambo-70 sports complex may end up being occupied by a new skating director (?). Let’s see what plays out.
 

Trillian

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I’m beginning to feel that she will not be exonerated. That big new Sambo-70 sports complex may end up being occupied by a new skating director (?). Let’s see what plays out.

If Eteri and her team are found to be complicit, there would logically have to be investigation of the possibility that Valieva wasn’t the only athlete they were drugging. Considering how potentially far-reaching the implications might be, I can’t imagine any internal review in Russia reaching that conclusion.
 

Vagabond

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Valieva herself blamed her grandfather, not her mother. It's easy to see why she would make up that story to protect her coach, not so easy to see why she would make up that story to protect her mother, who could easily have confessed to save her daughter's career.

:grandpa:
 

Willin

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History shows us it is never just one athlete.
I'm kind of wondering if the reason it's getting drawn out is they know she (and the rest of Eteri's top skaters) are doping and have a lot of overwhelming evidence. Now they were trying to figure out what to do about it. They could 1. just hide all the evidence and say it's a nothing burger - but that would lead to a WADA appeal and possibly more sanctions against Russian athletes when they are allowed to compete again 2. say it was just Valieva, but that would similarly draw more scrutiny - though this is probably the safest option 3. go nuclear, release all the evidence, and punish Eteri and her whole school.

But once they announce whatever decision they've made, they have to decide what to do about it. I bet that decision will take a whole lot more time. And whatever it is I fully expect them to throw Valieva under the bus even if it does put them in a tough spot given she's been their little "the west is evil" propaganda tool for months.
 

MacMadame

Doing all the things
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I wouldn't be surprised if they throw Eteri under the bus. She has plenty of prospects in other countries and has a daughter in the US. It wouldn't ruin her to be "fired" especially if they give her a good severance deal.

But it makes more sense to say it's just one athlete and waggle their finger at her while giving her a light punishment.
 

SkateFanBerlin

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I wouldn't be surprised if they throw Eteri under the bus. She has plenty of prospects in other countries and has a daughter in the US. It wouldn't ruin her to be "fired" especially if they give her a good severance deal.

But it makes more sense to say it's just one athlete and waggle their finger at her while giving her a light punishment.
A couple of years ago Russia accused Sotskova of using banned suubstances. I laughed at the time - making a scapegoat out of their most expendable skater.
 

airgelaal

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I wouldn't be surprised if they throw Eteri under the bus. She has plenty of prospects in other countries and has a daughter in the US. It wouldn't ruin her to be "fired" especially if they give her a good severance deal.

But it makes more sense to say it's just one athlete and waggle their finger at her while giving her a light punishment.
They will never do that. She is not alone in the team and does not plan to become a scapegoat.
 

Debbie S

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I expect they'll find Valieva guilty, use the :grandpa: excuse, determine that Eteri the Angel had nothing to do with it, and the punishment will either be a warning, no suspension, due to her age, or they'll suspend her for a month or however long until the day before the team event.

And then the appeals will begin.
 

tony

Throwing the (rule)book at them
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I expect they'll find Valieva guilty, use the :grandpa: excuse, determine that Eteri the Angel had nothing to do with it, and the punishment will either be a warning, no suspension, due to her age, or they'll suspend her for a month or however long until the day before the team event.

And then the appeals will begin.
My suspicion from the start of this would be that they give her a suspension that covers Europeans, take away that medal and either leave it vacant or move everyone else up a la B/S cough syrup in 2000, and then move on with it. 30 days would do it. 60 days would take her out of both the team event and individual event in Beijing, and I don't see it happening.

This way there's the 'well we at least did something'.
 

Rukia

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My suspicion from the start of this would be that they give her a suspension that covers Europeans, take away that medal and either leave it vacant or move everyone else up a la B/S cough syrup in 2000, and then move on with it. 30 days would do it. 60 days would take her out of both the team event and individual event in Beijing, and I don't see it happening.

This way there's the 'well we at least did something'.
This had been my take as well. She'll vacate Euros and nothing else. She didn't get an individual medal so they don't even have to deal with that, and everyone except maybe the Japanese, US, and Canadians feds will agree that she was punished and her team shouldn't be held responsible. No Olympic results will change.
 

airgelaal

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No matter what, Valieva is a national heroine. So much has been invested in the promotion of her sacrifice and heroism that russia will hold on to this symbol to the end. Of course, they will protect both Valieva and Eteri. russia is a country where athletes disqualified for doping become senators. You should not expect much from a country where there is such a high tolerance for doping.
 

rfisher

Let the skating begin
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No matter what, Valieva is a national heroine. So much has been invested in the promotion of her sacrifice and heroism that russia will hold on to this symbol to the end. Of course, they will protect both Valieva and Eteri. russia is a country where athletes disqualified for doping become senators. You should not expect much from a country where there is such a high tolerance for doping.
Kind of like the US. We elect cheats to the highest office in the land. And, many other countries do the same. Russia is hardly unique.
 

Vagabond

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This had been my take as well. She'll vacate Euros and nothing else. She didn't get an individual medal so they don't even have to deal with that
Except that she was placed fourth. I am sure that the skaters who finished behind her in the overall standings would prefer one place higher. Making the top ten sounds a heck of a lot better than finishing eleventh.

And I would rather have been able to watch Josefin Taljegård perform her Joker program one more time, even if she were to finish twenty-fifth, than watch the "pure and innocent girl" who stumbled all over the ice.
 

tony

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Except that she was placed fourth. I am sure that the skaters who finished behind her in the overall standings would prefer one place higher. Making the top ten sounds a heck of a lot better than finishing eleventh.

And I would rather have been able to watch Josefin Taljegård perform her Joker program one more time, even if she were to finish twenty-fifth, than watch the "pure and innocent girl" who stumbled all over the ice.
How quickly we forget the ISU allowed 25 skaters to the free skate for this very reason. Remove Valieva's result, and you still have the typical 24 qualifiers.

In this case, the ISU made a good move.
 

Karen-W

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Honestly, I'm not sure but that they won't wind up with a 60-day ban and strip ROC of the team gold. The only person who will lose out on an Olympic medal in that scenario is Kondratiuk and he's young enough to have a shot at one in 2026. If she's found guilty, there is no way the IOC is going to stand for her becoming an Olympic champion and they will appeal.
 
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