British Olympic skating gold medallist Robin Cousins says those responsible for Russian schoolgirl skater Kamila Valieve’s failed drug test must be ‘held responsible’ for 15-year-old’s fate

• Team GB skating gold medallist Robin Cousins has waded into the doping debate
• The 1980 Olympic champion has supported 15-year-old Kamila Valieva
• Valieva failed a drugs test as the Beijing Winter Olympics this week

Britain’s Olympic skating gold medallist Robin Cousins has waded into the controversy over Russian schoolgirl skater Kamila Valieva and called for those behind her failed drugs test ‘to be held responsible.’

A huge row has broken out between Russian officials and Olympic chiefs which could lead to the troubled teenager and her teammates being stripped of their gold medal.

The 1980 Olympic champion came out in support of 15-year-old Valieva, who has tested positive for a banned drug, and said she could not have known what practices were going on to help make her an Olympic champion.

Russian schoolgirl skater Kamila Valieve, 15, failed a drug test on February 8 after winning gold

Cousins said he was saddened that the youngster could find herself under such intense scrutiny at the Winter Olympics and that she would have performed as an accomplished skater without any banned drug.

She tested positive on February 8 – a day after taking gold in a team event – from a urine sample taken on December 25.

She was cleared by Moscow’s anti-doping agency to keep competing, but that decision is now being appealed.

A Swedish anti-doping clinic found she had used the banned heart medication TMZ. The test was conducted on Christmas Day.

Cousins, 64, who won the figure skating gold medal in Lake Placid, told Mail Online: ‘In my heart, I cannot believe that it has anything to do with a 15-year-old girl.

‘I hope that when the final results are done, that the people who are responsible are held accountable.

‘From a skating point of view, it is fairly obvious with the talent that she has, that she would have been doing what she is doing without this drug.

‘She has the type of talent that means this was totally unnecessary. . . what was this for?

Team GB Olympic skating gold medallist Robin Cousins has waded into the controversy

‘We need to research exactly what was going on, and to explain the timeline on the results of her test and the delay.

‘If the lab results on the test were delayed by Covid and Christmas, she still had to compete in the European Championships in the middle of January, that was a known entity, why was the test result not checked by someone in charge?’

He added: ‘ I find it sad that this is happening to her at this age. But at what point did she know the result?

‘We are all waiting now to find out what will happen on Monday.’

Russia is already banned from the Olympics because of its terrible record of doping athletes and its sportsmen and women are competing as representatives of the Russian Olympic Committee.

Cousins, who is in China as commentator, added: ‘Fortunately I have never been in the position to have to know about doping rules, they are something that I know nothing about.

Cousins said he was saddened that the youngster could find herself under such intense scrutiny at the Winter Olympics

‘She is a wonderful competitor, but in that training camp, there were 12-15 skaters between the ages of 14-16 who were performing at this standard.

‘There are three or four who potentially can do the quad rotations but it is not just that. We always wondered what the training regime was to get the kids to this level.

‘It is the quality of the skating overall, potentially this coach has gold, silver and bronze on the podium. It throws up a whole other level of questionable ethics.

‘I have to emphasise that this has nothing to do with the skaters themselves. There is no way they would know what is happening at that age.

‘You have to look at the mental health of issues as well with kids of this age.

‘How do you put that aside and step onto the ice and perform?

‘You come here for one thing and one thing only as an athlete.

‘That is your sole focus and how can you do that in this situation? That is worrying.

‘Now all the scrutiny will be on her teammates who were as oblivious as she was to all this.’

Athletes and anti-doping chiefs have also blasted Russia for ‘abusing’ the teenage figure skater after it was revealed she tested positive for a banned heart medication and called for her trainers to be ‘banned from sport forever’.

Athletes and anti-doping chiefs have also blasted Russia for ‘abusing’ the teenage figure skater after it was revealed she tested positive for a banned heart medication

Travis Tygart, current head of the US Anti-Doping Agency, spoke out to say Valieva is being ‘abused by the Russian state system’ and that ‘this poor young woman deserves better

Katarina Witt, a two-time gold figure skater from Germany, went further – calling for any ‘responsible adults’ around Valieva to be kicked out of sport ‘forever’ while adding that her heart ‘cries infinitely’ for the teenager.

Meanwhile Rob Koehler, former head of the World Anti-Doping agency, hit out at the Olympics’ governing bodies for failing to take harsher action against Moscow when a state-sponsored doping scheme was uncovered in 2016.

In the wake of the scandal Russia was officially banned from the Olympics, but was allowed to skirt the ban by sending athletes as part of the ‘Russian Olympic Committee’ under a neutral flag.

‘By not banning Russia for four years, there was no need or desire for cultural change by Russian authorities,’ Koehler said.

‘The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) favoured the power and influence of Russian sport over clean sport.’

Valieva, one of Russia’s most-promising Winter Olympians, had carried hopes of multiple goal medals with her when she flew from her training base in Moscow to Beijing last week for the Games.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has confirmed the the International Olympic Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency have appealed against the Russian Anti-Doping Committee to lift the suspension of Valieva

A Panel of arbitrators has been appointed to examine the episode surrounding the gold medal winning schoolgirl while the US and Japan await their silver and bronze medals.

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