Russian skater Kamila Valieva cleared to compete despite failed drug test

Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva has been cleared to compete in the women's figure skating competition, but a medal ceremony will not be held if she places on the podium, the International Olympic Committee has said.

Controversy has cast a cloud over the event after Valieva, 15, was found to have tested positive in December for the banned substance trimetazidine. (Why it took so long for the results of this test to come to light remains unclear.) Valieva was immediately suspended, then had the suspension lifted after The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that Valieva does not need to be provisionally suspended pending a full investigation because she is a minor. 

The decision to let Valieva skate despite failing the drug test has elicited negative reactions across the Olympic community.

"It is the collective responsibility of the entire Olympic community to protect the integrity of sports and to hold our athletes, coaches, and all involved to the highest of standards," U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland said in the statement. "Athletes have the right to know they are competing on a level playing field. Unfortunately, today that right is being denied. This appears to be another chapter in the systemic and pervasive disregard for clean sports by Russia..."