BEIJING — Kamila Valieva took the ice just before 10 p.m. Tuesday to the sound of clicking cameras, the world watching and wondering what she'd do.
In a moment of sports theater, the Russian phenom at the center of a doping saga turned in a shaky performance during her short program at Capital Indoor Stadium. But by the end of the night, she was nevertheless in the lead.
Despite twisting off-axis on the first of her three jumps – the notorious triple axel – and touching the ice on her descent, the 15-year-old's performance was good enough for a score of 82.16, nearly two full points ahead of the second-place finisher in the short program, her Russian teammate Anna Shcherbakova. The competition will continue Thursday with the long program.
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Valieva appeared to begin tearing up on the ice at the conclusion of her performance, then raised her hands to her face. Her short program capped a wild week in which she has found herself at the center of an international maelstrom involving some of the largest governing bodies in sports, including the International Olympic Committee and World Anti-Doping Agency.
Both organizations, in fact, felt the Russian teenager shouldn't have been on the ice Tuesday at all.
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News broke last week that Valieva tested positive for a banned heart medication called trimetazidine, which is used to treat angina but can also improve endurance and blood flow. She was provisionally suspended, then reinstated upon appeal. Her lawyers argued that she accidentally ingested the substance through a product her grandfather uses, veteran IOC member Denis Oswald confirmed earlier Tuesday.
The positive test delayed the medal ceremony for the team figure skating event, where Valieva helped Russia win gold, and sparked a complex legal battle over whether she should be allowed to compete again at the Games while her doping case was being adjudicated.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport, which generally has the final say on international sports disputes, ruled in Valieva's favor Monday, effectively paving the way for her to compete for an individual gold. Yet the IOC ensured she would do so with an asterisk, announcing it would not hold a medal ceremony if she placed in the top three. (It has also declined to hold a ceremony for the team event during the Beijing Games.)
The situation has left Valieva under an intense media spotlight, with more than a hundred reporters cramming into a practice rink in recent days to watch her skate and pepper her with questions after she left the ice.
"These days have been very difficult for me," she told Russian state broadcaster Channel One, in her only public comments since news of the positive test became public. "I’m happy but I’m tired emotionally."
The same could probably be said of Valieva's fellow competitors, who have been fielding questions about her situation for several days – including after their own performances Tuesday night.
"It’s a tough situation for everyone. And it’s unfortunate that it’s taking place at the Olympics," American skater Mariah Bell said. "... I have been and always will be an advocate for clean sport. That’s all I can really say."
Several skaters were asked if they believe Valieva should be competing.
"I can't say that. That's for other people to decide," Austria's Olga Mikutina said.
"I really haven’t even had time to think about anyone other than myself," said Kailani Craine of Australia.
Josefin Taljegard of Sweden said she simply finds the entire situation sad.
"I just want everyone to know figure skating is a lovely sport. These negative things, it takes away from that," Taljegard said.
“Because I didn’t know everything, I didn’t want to make up my mind. Of course I think fair play is important. Something inside of me thinks it’s sad. But here we are."
Contact Tom Schad at [email protected] or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.
