Russian ice skating phenomenon Kamilia Valieva, who recently won team gold, failed a doping test raising concerns about the International Olympic Committee’s accountability toward the Russian athletes and the status of the rest of the Beijing games. 

The 15-year-old Valieva has been an up-and-coming skater at the top of her sport, with credentials like the first woman to ever land the quadruple twisting jump extremely popular in men’s skating events. The controversy over her now failed doping tests has put a magnifying glass on how the IOC handled Russia’s lack of punishment from systematic doping scandals uncovered at the Sochi 2014 winter games. 

Documentaries and inside investigations were published leading up to the Rio de Janeiro 2016 summer games that implicated Russian officials swapping urine samples and attempts to cover the doping. Instead of enacting any form of ban or consequence for the Russian assembly, the IOC abdicated any responsibility granting it to the international overseers of the sports. By abdicating their responsibilities, they have allowed the doping to continue unabated, without the consequence of the Russian Olympic athletes. Lack of reprimands has led to multiple doping infractions by Russian athletes at the 2018 Pyeongchang winter games and now in Beijing. 

Athletes caught doping are persecuted by being stripped of their medals and disqualified from future Olympics. The IOC ‘technically’ banned Russia from the last few games, forcing their athletes to enter under the ”Russian Olympic Committee” using substitutes for their national anthem and uniform colors. The representative Russian athletes are accepted from a registered testing pool that was supposed to eliminate any doping complications, allowing the Russians to compete under the neutral Olympic flag. Obviously, the recent events suggest the lack of consequences for Russia has negatively impacted the credibility of the IOC as officials now have to decide the next steps. 

The drug Valieva tested positive for is called trimetazidine, used as a heart medicine to decrease chest pain. The IOC bans it because it can increase blood flow efficiency and an athlete's endurance, acting like a stimulant and metabolic modulator. The controversy gets even more complicated because Valieva is only 15 and is protected by the World Anti-Doping Code. This means she is treated as a minor with less associated reprimands from testing positive for doping, like only a maximum ban of 2 years. Critics of the IOC suggest the accusations of the 15-year-old intentionally taking the banned substance to improve her performance are laughable, and the actual blame should be placed on the entire Russian system. 

Investigations are underway into the situation, including her coach, Eteri Tutberidze, who has a history of poorly treating her athletes known for putting an immense amount of pressure on the young skaters. The medal ceremony for the team skating event has been postponed indefinitely as the IOC officials and overseers decide how to proceed. The second-place United States and Japan in third were given no reason for the medal ceremony delay until headlines highlighted the positive tests. The decision leading up to the individual skating event Valieva was favored to win, and pending the disqualification, nobody knows how the competitions will go.

The distrust in the process and other ROC athletes will now shroud the competitive ice event with two other Russian skaters planning to make history also attempting quads in their routines.  If the IOC decides to treat Valieva according to the WADC, Russia may keep their team gold, but these games are now tarnished with deceit and doping regardless of the decision.