Post by Admin on Feb 11, 2022 16:11:33 GMT
The United States could prosecute the Russians involved in figure skater Kamila Valieva’s doping case under the American Rodchenkov Act (RADA), the head of the U.S. Anti Doping Agency (USADA), Travis Tygart, told Reuters on Friday.
The RADA bill was signed into U.S. law in 2020 and empowers American prosecutors to seek fines of up to $1 million and jail terms of up to 10 years, even for non-Americans, if actions have affected American athletes’ results.
Russian Valieva won gold in the team event on Monday but the International Testing Agency (ITA) said on Friday the 15-year-old had earlier failed a drug test. The United States won silver and Japan bronze.
Olympic officials are now contesting Russia's decision to let her compete at the Beijing Winter Games.
"The act has been used to protect one Olympic Games," Tygart said, referring to last year's Tokyo Games. "It is going to be used to protect other Olympic Games when people continue to dope.
"You cannot make it up. We are living in the twilight zone. Clean athletes deserve better, and this poor young woman deserves better. She's getting chewed up (for doping) on top of being abused by the Russian state system."
The RADA gives U.S. authorities the power to prosecute individuals for doping schemes at international events involving American athletes, sponsors or broadcasters.
It was named after Grigory Rodchenkov, a former Russia anti-doping laboratory head who turned whistleblower and helped expose Russia's state-sponsored doping following the 2014 Sochi Winter Games.
The RADA bill was signed into U.S. law in 2020 and empowers American prosecutors to seek fines of up to $1 million and jail terms of up to 10 years, even for non-Americans, if actions have affected American athletes’ results.
Russian Valieva won gold in the team event on Monday but the International Testing Agency (ITA) said on Friday the 15-year-old had earlier failed a drug test. The United States won silver and Japan bronze.
Olympic officials are now contesting Russia's decision to let her compete at the Beijing Winter Games.
"The act has been used to protect one Olympic Games," Tygart said, referring to last year's Tokyo Games. "It is going to be used to protect other Olympic Games when people continue to dope.
"You cannot make it up. We are living in the twilight zone. Clean athletes deserve better, and this poor young woman deserves better. She's getting chewed up (for doping) on top of being abused by the Russian state system."
The RADA gives U.S. authorities the power to prosecute individuals for doping schemes at international events involving American athletes, sponsors or broadcasters.
It was named after Grigory Rodchenkov, a former Russia anti-doping laboratory head who turned whistleblower and helped expose Russia's state-sponsored doping following the 2014 Sochi Winter Games.