BEIJING – Today’s Olympic doping update: Russians are not supposed to take drugs, but they can give them to their kids. That is not a joke. Well, it is. But it’s not supposed to be.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decided skater Kamila Valieva can continue to compete in figure skating at the Olympics despite taking a banned heart medication because, according to the IOC, Valieva is a “protected person.” I figured Valieva is protected because she is Russian, but it turns out, it’s because she is 15.
Basically: She is too young for her drug use to be her fault, so carry on.