MOSCOW (AFP, REUTERS) - President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday (April 26) defended Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva, who was at the centre of a doping scandal at the Beijing Winter Olympics, saying she could not have won gold "dishonestly".
"The whole country, figure skating fans all over the world, were especially worried about Kamila," Mr Putin said during a televised meeting with Russian Olympic medallists at the Kremlin.
Valieva has "absorbed all the most complex elements of figure skating - its flexibility, beauty, power and tenderness... and with her work brought the sport to the height of real art," Mr Putin said.
"Such perfection cannot be achieved dishonestly, with the help of some additional means, manipulations... we understand and know this very well," he said.
At February's Games, Valieva became the first woman to land a quadruple jump in Olympic competition, helping the Russian team secure gold in the team event.
It then emerged that she had earlier tested positive for trimetazidine, a drug used to treat angina but which is banned for athletes because it can boost endurance.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport allowed Valieva - who was 15 at the time - to continue competing at the Games, citing her young age, though without clearing her of doping.
In the individual final, Valieva fell several times and finished in fourth place.
The International Olympic Committee decided not to award any medals for the team event until Valieva's doping case has been resolved.
Meanwhile, next year's ice hockey world championship will be moved away from St Petersburg in Russia, governing body IIHF said on Tuesday, due to concerns about the well-being of players and officials after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The tournament was scheduled to take place in St Petersburg from May 5-21. The federation said it will name an alternate host during the 2022 world championship, which will take place in Finland.
"The decision to relocate the event was taken primarily out of concern for the safety and well-being of all participating players, officials, media, and fans," the IIHF said in a statement.
"The council expressed significant concerns over the safe freedom of movement of players and officials to, from, and within Russia."
Earlier this year, the IIHF suspended Russian and Belarusian teams from its competitions until further notice and revoked Russia's hosting rights for the 2023 world junior championships.
Moscow calls its actions in Ukraine a "special military operation". Belarus is a key staging area for the invasion.
