Russian President Vladimir Putin defended his country’s figure skater Kamila Balieva, who was accused of doping at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
According to Reuters on the 26th local time, President Putin held a welcome ceremony for the medalists of the Russian Olympic Committee for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing at the Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia on the same day and encouraged the athletes.
“Balieva has taken sport to the level of a true art,” he said.
Balieva was mentioned as a strong gold medal candidate in the figure skating women’s singles category at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
However, after the figure skating team event, the banned drug trimetazidine was detected in a urine sample submitted at the Russian Championships on December 25, 2021, and was embroiled in doping controversy.
After many twists and turns, Balieva, who participated in the individual exhibition, fell several times during the performance and finished fourth overall.
