Kamila Valieva's positive doping test casts a pall over her Olympic performance

Transcript

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

A big twist at the Beijing Winter Olympics - two women from Russia did win the gold and silver medals in figure skating, but neither of them were the controversial Kamila Valieva. The star skater finished in fourth place after she fell during her routine in the women's free skate. Joining us from Beijing with the latest is NPR's Brian Mann. Good morning.

BRIAN MANN, BYLINE: Good morning, Leila.

FADEL: So wow - Valieva, the superstar skater, to finish without a medal. This must be a shock.

MANN: I'm still kind of stunned.

FADEL: Yeah.

MANN: This just happened a short time ago. And we've all been kind of living in Valieva's world over the last couple of weeks - this enormous scandal. And tonight reminded us that she's 15 years old. And in the middle of this international controversy, she stumbled, and she looked uncertain. She fell. It was, really, a stunning moment. And of course, then these two other Russian skaters, Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova sort of stepped into that gap, and they performed masterfully, sticking quad jumps, really looking like what we expected from Valieva. So a big twist - Russians still on top, but not Valieva.

FADEL: Yeah, a reminder of the incredible pressure these young athletes are under. Remind us, though, what Valieva is accused of in this doping scandal.

MANN: Yeah, this teenager arrived here, and it turned out that she had submitted a doping sample back in December. This is part of the process all these Olympic athletes go through. It went unreported for more than six weeks. And then in the middle of these games, that positive test was revealed that she apparently used a performance-enhancing heart medication. It's a mystery why the red flag didn't surface earlier. But it's exploded into this enormous scandal. Some critics say Valieva's positive test raises questions about the entire Russian sports program, including these other two skaters who medaled tonight. Olympic officials have been asked repeatedly whether Russia should even have been at these Beijing Games without making more meaningful reforms.

FADEL: Now, Valieva has not spoken about this. She's declined to talk. But you've been talking with the women who competed against her. What are they saying?

MANN: Yeah, many of them say this whole scandal has just been exhausting and distracting. They said they want to compete in a clean sport, and they describe struggling to still have fun and enjoy this Olympic moment. Remember; a lot of these skaters are very young. They're teenagers. They talk to the press while holding stuffed animals. It's heartbreaking. So it's an incredibly complicated position for these athletes to be in.

FADEL: So why was Valieva allowed to skate in this competition?

MANN: Well, the International Olympic Committee and others, including U.S. Olympic officials, didn't want her here. They wanted her disqualified. But Russia insisted that she be here. A three-member panel agreed. So they said she's so young, and the test results were delayed. They thought it would be unfair to send Valieva home. But I think people will be asking, given what we saw tonight, whether it was fair to keep her at the center of this firestorm for all these days.

FADEL: Now, medals will be handed out for this individual women's skating competition, but I understand the Valieva case means an American Olympic medal is still on hold. How come?

MANN: Yeah, that's right. So no U.S. skaters finished in the top three tonight. But Valieva did also skate in the team competition last week, leading to a Russian team gold. If she's disqualified, ultimately, that gold will go to the U.S., which is now in the silver-medal position. Those American athletes won't know for weeks - it could be even longer - whether they'll get a gold or a silver medal.

FADEL: NPR's Brian Mann in Beijing. Thank you so much.

MANN: Thanks, Leila.

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