The International Olympic Committee on Tuesday responded to criticism over its choice to withhold the awarding of medals in occasions received by a Russian determine skater on the heart of doping questions.
A Swiss court docket has cleared the skater, Kamila Valieva, 15, to compete within the girls’s singles occasion on Tuesday night time, regardless of failing a take a look at for banned substances in December.
The I.O.C., in response, introduced on Monday that, till investigations are full, there can be no medal ceremony within the occasion if Valieva, the clear favourite, completed among the many prime three opponents.
The message from I.O.C. officers on Tuesday was clear, if doubtlessly unsatisfactory to critics: They sympathize with the opposite athletes who would get no podium ceremony, they don’t know all the main points of the case, and so they mentioned they’d tried their finest.
“You must understand, it would be very difficult to allocate medals based on a situation that is not final, because there is a fair chance you would not give the right medal to the right team,” mentioned Denis Oswald, an I.O.C. govt board member.
Regarding the opposite opponents, who will lose the privilege of a correct medal ceremony, he mentioned: “The damage for them is not irreparable, even if we fully understand that it’s not exactly the same if you get your medal at the Games or later on.”
In defending herself, Valieva prompt that the optimistic outcome had stemmed from a case of contamination that “happened with a product her grandfather was taking,” Oswald informed The Associated Press and different media shops.
Valieva helped Russia win gold within the workforce occasion final week, shortly earlier than the authorities have been knowledgeable of the optimistic take a look at outcome. She was cleared to proceed competing at these Games by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Monday as a result of, it mentioned, she was a minor and was not liable for the sluggish supply of the outcome by a laboratory in Sweden. The ruling additionally cited what it known as the potential for “irreparable harm” in the event that they pulled her from competitors.
The query of her eligibility will likely be decided within the months after the Games, at which level her outcomes from these Olympics could possibly be disqualified.
Oswald was requested in regards to the rising refrain of critics who mentioned the group was too gentle on Russia, which was discovered to have engaged in a large-scale, state-sponsored doping scheme in the course of the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Many athletes even have argued that the inclusion of Valieva within the occasion this week undermined the notion of unpolluted competitors on the Games.
“It’s surprising that people from all over the world have opinions and comments on a case where we ourselves don’t have the details,” he mentioned. “It’s very easy to criticize without knowing the situation. We have tried to do our best to apply the principles of justice, due process, respect of the law. It’s part of our job to be criticized. That’s quite normal nowadays. But we can’t do more than we have done.”
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