The mess in
Beijing is not down to the court of arbitration for sport but a collective failure of coaches and organisations
![Don’t blame Cas for Valieva situation – blame those who have failed her | Bryan Armen Graham](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/3fc7361870d2c2c7bf9899c9862540045cc61b6c/0_0_2263_1358/master/2263.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctb3BpbmlvbnMucG5n&enable=upscale&s=cb2c04b6b12c30567d537a51517d6078)
The decision to allow the
Russian prodigy Kamila Valieva to take part in the women’s figure skating competition less than two months after testing positive for a banned heart medication has cast a shadow over the glamour event of the
Winter Olympics that will persist for years to come, further tainting the reputation of a Beijing Games already beset by controversy.
Armed with a quiver of point-gobbling quadruple jumps, the 15-year-old Valieva set the world record for combined total score in her first outing as a senior in October and has improved from there, skating with a deeper maturity and sophistication in each competition through to the team event last week in Beijing, where she became the first woman to land a four-revolution jump on Olympic ice. But the entirety of her sensational debut campaign was thrown into question on Friday after it was revealed she tested positive for a prohibited substance known to increase endurance and stamina.