(Reuters) – Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that teenage figure skater Kamila Valieva’s performances could not have been achieved with the help of any banned substances.
Putin was speaking at an awards ceremony for medallists from the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics at the Kremlin.
Valieva, who turned 16 on Tuesday, failed a doping test at the Russian national championships last December but the result was only revealed on Feb. 8, a day after she had already helped the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) win the team event at the Beijing Games.
(Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
