Former U.S. Olympian Adam Rippon Calls ROC ’Dirty Cheaters’ Over Kamila Valieva Situation

David J. Phillip/AP Photo

Kamila Valieva was cleared to compete in the women’s figure skating competition on Monday after testing positive for a banned substance, and the decision from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has prompted many to speak out. 

Adam Rippon, who won bronze in the team event at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games, did not sugarcoat his feelings when talking about the decision and the Russian Olympic Committee. 

“Dirty cheaters, and we are accommodating them,” Adam Rippon told Time Magazine on Monday. “They shouldn’t be here at the Olympic Games, they’re clowns.”

On Dec. 25, a sample from Valieva was taken during the 2022 Russian Figure Skating Championship in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The test results, released on Feb. 8, found traces of “an Adverse Analytical Finding for the non-specified prohibited substance trimetazidine.” 

The 15-year-old was provisionally suspended, but Valieva challenged it on Feb. 9. The Russian Anti-Doping Agency lifted her suspension the next day, and CAS ruled on Monday she does not need to be provisionally suspended ahead of an investigation. Because Valieva is a minor and a ”protected person,” she is subject to different rules.  

Rippon defended the teen on Twitter on Friday and pointed fingers at the coaches and adults around her. He repeated those sentiments in his interview on Monday. 

“What this says is that the team around her are child abusers,” Rippon said, per Time. “The only thing they care about is performance, and not the health and well being of their athletes. They are a factory that pumps out children who can compete, up to a certain point. It doesn’t feel like the coaches involved in the ladies’ program are coaches at all, but dog trainers; they’re running a circus.”

Valieva is a heavy favorite in the ladies’ singles Olympic figure skating competition. She is currently in the lead after Tuesday’s short program, scoring a 82.16. In the team event, Valieva became the first woman to land a quad jump at the Olympics and helped the ROC win gold. 

Due to the scandal, the International Olympic Committee said the medal ceremony for the team event would not be held during the Olympics. Similarly, if Valieva medals in the ladies’ single, there will not be a medal ceremony.  

Rippon, who is coaching U.S. figure skater Mariah Bell in the Beijing Games, called for Russian athletes to be banned from international competitions. 

“A complete and total ban from all international competition is the only thing that works,” says Rippon. “It’s heartbreaking to think about the athletes who have spent their lives training, but the Olympics took a big blow today and I don’t know how it recovers from this. A lot of people have lost faith in the Olympics and in clean sport.”