The Kamila Valieva doping scandal has finally reached its conclusion.
The Russian figure skater has been banned from competition for four years after she tested positive for a banned substance ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Valieva, now 17, will lose all of her medals and awards dating back to December 2021.
"The doping of children is unforgivable," the World Anti-Doping Agency said in a statement . "Doctors, coaches or other support personnel who are found to have provided performance-enhancing substances to minors should face the full force of the World Anti-Doping Code."
Valieva was 15 years old when she tested positive for trimetazidine, a banned substance under World Anti-Doping Agency guidelines.
Dmitry Peskov, press secretary for Russian president Vladimir Putin, criticized the ruling.
"Of course, we don’t agree with this," Peskov said. “From my point of view, of course, it’s politicized."
Here is what you need to know about the ban and what it means for Valieva and for Team USA.
MORE: What to know about Kamila Valieva's doping case
What did Kamila Valieva do?
Valieva entered the 2022 Olympics as one of figure skating's up-and-coming stars. The 15-year-old made headlines by becoming the first woman to complete a quadruple jump at an Olympic team event, which helped her team win gold at the event over the United States.
Just one day after that historic feat, though, it was announced that she had tested positive for trimetazidine in a doping test administered in December. The Russian anti-doping agency blamed the delay in the testing result on the coronavirus, per the Associated Press.
In an interview with The New York Times, U.S. Anti-Doping Agency chief executive Travis Tygart called the situation a "complete catastrophic failure to athletes and public confidence" and said it was "total gross incompetence" that the lab results took more than a month.
"It's heartbreaking, because this didn't need to happen and shouldn't have happened," Tygart said.
The Court of Arbitration of Sport controversially allowed Valieva to continue to compete at the Olympics. She ended up finishing fourth in the women's singles competition, an event in which she was expected to win gold.
After Valieva's positive test, the medal ceremony for the team figure skating competition was postponed — but nearly two years later, Valieva's suspension finally has brought a resolution.
Valieva's four-year ban, which is retroactive to December 2021, was welcomed by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, Tygart said.
"As we know, Russia has hijacked the [Olympic] Games since 2014 where it was caught red-handed running a state-sponsored doping scheme that robbed clean athletes around the world," he said. "Here, yet again, those entrusted to protect the Games and athletes have allowed Russia to jeopardize the wellbeing of its own athletes while robbing clean athletes and fans of an honest, fair, and authentic Olympic competition."
Will Russia lose its Olympic medals?
Valieva is going to be stripped of all of her "results, prizes, medals and awards" dating back to Christmas Day in 2021, when she tested positive for trimetazidine, the Court of Arbitration of Sport confirmed.
That includes the Russian Olympic Committe's gold medal in the team event from the 2022 Olympics. Since Valieva took part in that program, the first place finish was invalidated, with the Russian team losing the points earned by Valieva.
Despite losing out on gold, Russia isn't losing out on a medal. In a controversial decision, the International Skating Union announced Tuesday that Team USA would receive the gold medal, and Japan would be bumped up to silver. But the Russian team will earn the bronze medal over Canada, which finished fourth place overall.
Russia has been stripped of its figure skating team gold at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing after teenager Kamila Valieva was banned for four years for using a banned substance.
— Rick Westhead (@rwesthead) January 30, 2024
The International Skating Union said today it has readjusted the competition, awarding the gold to the…
The ISU sent out this new team order — USA, Japan and Russia — at 4:39 am ET. At 5:22, I emailed about their math, asking why two points weren’t added (1 in SP, 1 in LP) to the other women who would move up after Valieva’s DQ? Canada would be 3rd in that case. Still no response. pic.twitter.com/RpsG6dCgbM
— Christine Brennan (@cbrennansports) January 30, 2024
Russia's appeals for the decision were denied in July, right before the start of the 2024 Olympics. Now, the United States can go forward with its medal ceremony plans. The International Olympic Committee, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and U.S. Figure Skating are now in talks to confirm if the planned August 7 medal ceremony will take place.
What is trimetazidine?
Trimetazidine is a "medication used to treat heart-related conditions," according to WebMD. The drug helps "metabolize fatty acids" as well as allowing "for more blood flow to your heart and limits quick changes in your blood pressure."
Trimetazidine is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency because it can improve an athlete's endurance and increase blood flow efficiency.
