The decision by arbitrators to allow the Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva to compete this week brought little clarity to the dispute over her positive test for a banned substance. Some lingering questions are unlikely to be answered for weeks, if not months.
Valieva, the 15-year-old prodigy who last week became the first woman to land a quadruple jump in competition, was crucial to Russia’s victory in the team event, and she is widely considered the favorite in the women’s individual competition that opens Tuesday night in Beijing. But the consequences of her positive test are just beginning to send their ripples across the skating world, and at least a dozen of her competitors will not be awarded their own medals until her case is settled.