Soviet figure skater on Valieva's return to competition, 'don't dictate to her'

Famous figure skater of the former Soviet Union,Three-time Winter Olympic champion Irina Rodnina, a deputy to the Russian State Duma, recently talked about the possibility of the banned Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva returning to the competition in an interview with Russian media.

Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva

'I don't know if Camila will return to the game. Coming back is a bad sign, hahaha. It's hard," Rodnina said. In her opinion, Valieva is a talented athlete, but she became one of the most talked-about figures not because of her results, but because of her drug abuse case. Rodnina appealed not to dictate to Valieva in this situation, "let her try it herself and solve the problem." ”

Russian State Duma deputy Irina Rodnina

In January 2024, the Court of Arbitration for Sport banned the figure skater for four years after she found traces of the banned drug trimetazidine during tests in December 2021. Valieva was then stripped of her gold medals at the European Figure Skating Championships, the Russian Figure Skating Championships and the team figure skating event at Beijing 2022 (along with the Russian national team). The suspension period will end on December 25, 2025, which means that the female figure skater will be able to compete at the end of December 2025. With the support of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), Valieva has participated in a number of ice shows in recent years.