Olympics Says Russian Skater Who Failed Drug Test Can Compete "Because She's a Kid"

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) that oversees disputes in international sport, has said that Russian Figure Skater Kamila Valieva, 15, will be allowed to compete in the Women's Individual tomorrow despite testing positive for Trimetazidine. 

Valieva during a double-world-record-breaking performance two months ago

They further stated that there will be no medal or flower ceremony -- who led Russia to a Gold with a stunning performance that included her becoming the only woman to land two quadruple jumps in Women's history -- should she win a medal in tomorrow's event. Any ceremony -- including for whoever wins silver or bronze until a "final evaluation" was made. 

Despite outrage from fans, fellow athletes and sporting bodies around the world -- including the World Anti-Doping Agency themselves --  the CAS says that the crux of its decision lay in the fact that Valieva is a minor and "subject to lesser penalties" and that Valieva was not given timely notification of her failed test when it was discovered in December. 

Kamila Valieva is one of only three women to land a quadruple jump. The only other two are her rivals and teammates under the same coach.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) themselves released a statement following the CAS' ruling stating that "not in line with the terms of the World Anti-Doping Code" and that "it appears that the CAS panel decided not to apply the terms of the Code, which does not allow for specific exceptions to be made." Essentially that CAS, for some reason, chose to ignore the rulebook -- which makes no exceptions for minors -- and just "let her compete anyway."

What does this mean moving forward for Valieva, the Olympics and other medalists? Well, ostensibly, it means that an 'independent investigation' is supposed to be made into Valieva's 'support staff' (her coaches) -- because she's a minor -- and that, based on its findings, the medal will or will not be awarded to her. In the meantime, the other athletes who medal in tomorrow's event will have to just, well, eat it.