BEIJING (AP) — Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva says she’s happy but worn out after a grueling doping hearing ended with her being allowed to skate at the Beijing Games.
The 15-year-old tells Russian state broadcaster Channel One that the past few days have been very difficult for her. Valieva is the favorite for the gold medal in the women’s competition.
Valieva’s lawyers say she failed a doping test before the Olympics because of contamination from medication her grandfather was taking.
There won’t be a medal ceremony if Valieva finishes in the top three because the International Olympic Committee is concerned she could still be banned over a failed drug test from Dec. 25. That test was not revealed until after she won team gold with the Russian Olympic Committee last week.
Also in Beijing:
— Sofia Goggia has come back less than a month after a bad crash and serious leg injury to compete in the downhill at the Beijing Olympics and earn the silver medal behind champion Corinne Suter. Goggia won the downhill for Italy four years ago at the Pyeongchang Games. She wasn’t sure she would be able to race today.
— Eileen Gu took home another medal with a second-place finish in the women’s ski slopestyle competition. That means she could still become the first action-sports athlete to capture three medals at the same Winter Games. Gu’s bid for another gold medal was thwarted by Mathilde Gremaud of Switzerland.
— Su Yiming gave host China its second gold medal, matching Eileen Gu with a stunning show in front of fans and winning the country’s first top prize in Olympic snowboarding.
— Anna Gasser of Austria has won her second straight Olympic gold medal in women’s snowboarding big air. The 30-year-old Gasser held off a field with an average age of 21, including slopestyle winner Zoi Sadowski Synnott of New Zealand. Sadowski Synnott took silver Tuesday.
— The defending Olympic champion U.S. men’s curling team beat Switzerland 7-4 and moved within reach of a playoff berth. John Shuster’s team is in fourth place after its fourth win, with remaining matches against the two bottom teams in the standings.
