Olympic skater Valieva’s entourage under investigation

The world's top anti-doping authority will investigate the entourage of 15-year-old Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva who tested positive for a banned drug at the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Valieva’s Olympic future will be decided after a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) hearing at 8:30 p.m. Beijing time (1230 GMT).

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said on Sunday that it would ask its independent Intelligence and Investigations Department to probe the coaches, doctors and other adults surrounding the athlete.

Earlier, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it had formally asked WADA to launch an investigation.
WADA also said that the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) has indicated it has already started investigating the entourage because Valieva is a minor.

Valieva tested positive for a banned heart drug at her national championships last December, but it took more than six weeks for her to be notified, allowing her to compete in Beijing.

Her future at the Games, and a gold for the Russian Olympic Committee in the team event that she dominated on Monday, now hang in the balance amid a global outcry over Moscow's doping history.

At 15, Valieva is one of the youngest athletes to have a positive test revealed at the Olympics.

The IOC set up the entourage commission in 2010 as positive drug cases of athletes mounted in the 2000s, especially with the re-testing of samples of past Olympics.

Russia's state-backed doping scandal after the 2014 Sochi Olympics made more apparent that athletes often did not act alone but were supported by a wider network, including medics, coaches, agents and family and friends.

On Sunday, however, it will be Valieva's future at the Games that is debated. 
A panel of three judges for CAS will hear arguments from the IOC, WADA and International Skating Union to reinstate a ban lifted by the Russian Anti-Doping Authority on Feb. 9.

At stake is Valieva's entry in the women's single event on Tuesday. CAS has said they will notify all parties on Monday.

The fate of the gold medal that has still not been awarded for the Feb. 7 women's team event is likely to take longer to clear up.