The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said on Monday that banning 15-year-old Kamila Valieva from competing in the individual figure skating event would have caused ‘irreparable harm’ to the teenage athlete, so she will be able to take her place Tuesday. .

The 15-year-old Russian has been at the center of a storm involving several of the sport’s most powerful governing bodies after he tested positive for a banned substance on December 25.

The positive doping test result was not revealed until February 8 after she won gold in the team event at the Winter Games, landing the first quad jumps ever in women’s Olympic competition.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC), World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and skating governing body (ISU) wanted a reversal of a Russian anti-doping agency’s decision to lift Valieva’s suspension.

While the CAS highlighted the “serious problems with untimely notification of results” in its decision, it added that: “this late notification was not its fault, right in the middle of the Winter Olympics”.

They also noted that Valieva is a “protected person” under WADA rules, as one of the exceptional circumstances underlying her decision.

The medal ceremony for the team event has been put on hold and a final decision will only be made once the matter has been dealt with, which could be after the Games end on February 20.

MP/PFD (Reuters, AP)

More soon.