Putin uses awards ceremony to air grievances against sanctions placed on Russian athletes

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke in defense of Russian athletes during a televised awards ceremony on Tuesday. He cast doubt on the claims of doping surrounding figure skater Kamila Valieva, and lambasted sanctions placed on Evgeny Rylov and Russian Paralympians.

The awards ceremony, meant to celebrate Russian medalists at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, was held amidst a backdrop of sanctions placed on the country’s athletes in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Taking aim at claims of doping levied against Kamila Valieva, Putin spoke highly of the impact she had on the sport of figure skating, stating, “through her work, she brought the sport to the level of a real form of art,” according to Reuters.

Valieva, who turned 16 on Tuesday, was first cast into the global spotlight after playing an integral role in the Russian Olympic Committee team’s victory in the figure skating team event. However, in the following days, she soon found herself at the center of the biggest scandal of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

It was discovered Valieva had registered an adverse analytical finding from a doping sample collected during the 2021 Russian Figure Skating Championships. In line with standard anti-doping procedures, a provisional suspension was imposed on Valieva.

The provisional suspension held up the medal ceremony for the team event, which has still yet to take place over two months on from the Games, and cast a shadow over Valieva’s participation at the Games.

She was eventually allowed to skate in the ladies single event following an appeal of the provisional suspension to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Valieva ultimately finished fourth in the event after a shocking breakdown in the free skate.

Putin further defended the young skater on Tuesday, arguing, “such perfection cannot be achieved dishonestly with the help of additional substances, manipulations. We very well know that these additional substances are not needed in figure skating.”

Shifting from the controversy surrounding Valieva, Putin also took aim at the sanctions imposed against various Russian athletes.

He labeled the nine-month ban levied by the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) against two-time Olympic gold medalist Evgeny Rylov “completely absurd” according to Reuters. Rylov was handed the suspension following his attendance and conduct at a pro-Russia rally held at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on March 18.

Putin also hit out at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) for their decision to decline the entries of Russian and Belarusian athletes at the 2022 Winter Paralympics.

“The suspension of athletes from Russia and Belarus not only directly violated the fundamental principles of sport but their most basic human rights were...openly, cynically violated,” stated Putin.

Russian and Belarusian athletes were set to compete at the Games following a decision by the IPC to allow them to compete as neutrals. However, under threat of boycott from athletes of other nations at the Games, the IPC ultimately u-turned on that decision and declined the entry of Russian and Belarusian athletes at the Games.

An alternative winter para sport event was then organized by Russia in lieu of participation at the Winter Paralympics. Putin indicated an interest in doing the same for other athletes on Tuesday.

“The cancelled competitions need to be compensated with our own new formats, " said the Russian leader, adding, “and we can get it done fast.”

It remains unclear when and where any other alternative events would be organized, but Putin stated his openness to international participation in the competitions according to The Guardian.

A severe split in international sports occurred when Russia invaded Ukraine. Putin’s comments on Tuesday will likely do very little to solve the ongoing schism.