The Court of Arbitration for Sport is set to decide within 24 hours whether Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva, who failed a doping test at a national meet last December, can continue to compete in the Winter Olympics.
The move comes after the International Olympic Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency on Friday filed a complaint against an earlier decision by RUSADA, Russia's testing agency, to allow Valieva to stay in the games.
The CAS office at the Beijing Olympics is supposed to settle disputes within 24 hours in principle so as to ensure prompt decisions on issues of ongoing participation in the games.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was convinced the case was a misunderstanding.
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"We boundlessly and fully support Kamila Valieva and call on everyone to support her," Peskov told reporters on Friday.
RUSADA said there was a delay in receiving results of Valieva's test due to the coronavirus' re-emergence and its impact on the laboratory doing the testing. Her sample was reportedly tested in Stockholm, Sweden.
The short program for female figure skaters is scheduled to be held on Tuesday.
According to the International Testing Agency, the 15-year-old Valieva, who helped the Russian Olympic Committee win figure skating team gold in Beijing, failed the test taken at the Russian national championships on Dec. 25, with her sample coming back positive on Feb. 8.
She was banned by RUSADA but petitioned to have the ban lifted pending an appeal.
Valieva holds the world records for points scored in the short program, free skate and combined total and had been the clear gold medal favorite.
Russian athletes are competing in Beijing under the Russian Olympic Committee banner due to a ban on the national team over allegations of orchestrated doping.
If the gold medal-winning ROC is disqualified from the figure skating team event, the United States would be elevated to gold, Japan to silver and Canada to bronze.
