FILE PHOTO: 2022 Beijing Olympics - Figure Skating - Women Single Skating - Free Skating - Capital Indoor Stadium, Beijing, China - February 17, 2022. Kamila Valieva of the Russian Olympic Committee falls during her performance. REUTERS/Phil Noble
(Reuters) - The International Skating Union will lodge an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in the case of figure skater Kamila Valieva after a Russian investigation found the teenager not guilty of any doping infraction, it said on Wednesday.
The ISU's decision comes a day after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) also announced that it would appeal to CAS, seeking a four-year ban and disqualification of all of Valieva's results from the date of the sample collection.
The ISU said it is seeking a period of ineligibility at CAS's own discretion.
"The ISU is of the opinion that all young athletes must be protected against doping. Such protection cannot happen by exempting young athletes from sanctions," the ISU said in a statement.
"Within the appeal, the ISU is seeking a period of ineligibility at CAS's own discretion, starting from 25 December 2021 and disqualification of all results achieved during this period including forfeiture of any medals, points and prizes.
"Additionally, CAS is to decide the consequences of the Anti-Doping Rule Violation committed by Kamila Valieva and determine the final results of the Figure Skating Team Event at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games."
Valieva tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine at the Russian national championships in December 2021 but the result was only made known on Feb. 8, 2022 a day after she helped her team win a gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.
In her defence, Valieva said the positive test was the result of a mix-up with her grandfather's heart medication.
During the Beijing Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided that no medals for the team figure skating event would be presented until Valieva's case had been resolved.
The United States took silver behind the Russians, with Japan getting the bronze and Canada placing fourth.
(Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
