Olympics Live: Valieva practices while awaiting decision

Russian figure skating superstar Kamila Valieva is at a practice session in Beijing just hours before the Court of Arbitration for Sport meets to decide whether she’ll be allowed to compete

Beijing Olympics Figure Skating (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

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Russian figure skating superstar Kamila Valieva was at a practice session Sunday, hours before the Court of Arbitration for Sport was scheduled to meet to decide whether she'll be allowed to compete.

The meeting of CAS is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. Sunday and a decision is expected sometime Monday, less than 24 hours before Valieva is scheduled to skate in the women’s short program at the Beijing Games.

Valieva has been allowed to practice since Monday, when a drug test she took in December was flagged for traces of a banned heart medication. That was the same day Valieva helped Russia win the team gold medal with a dynamic free skate in which she became the first woman to land a quad lutz in Olympic competition.

The practices have become increasingly uncomfortable, though, as Valieva continues to prepare with dozens of reporters and camera crews watching her every move. She briefly broke down in tears during her Friday session.

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