‘Emotionally tired’ Kamila Valieva claims positive test may be due to grandfather’s heart medication

Kamila Valieva has broken her silence as she prepares to start her controversial bid for Winter Olympic gold.

Valieva, 15, was cleared to compete in Tuesday’s women’s figure skating competition by the Court of Arbitration in Sport, despite testing positive for banned substance Trimetazidine, an angina medication, in December.

But she could skate and lose any award at a future hearing, with the International Olympic Committee already cancelling medal ceremonies because of the uncertainty.

It’s a move that’s attracted strong criticism, especially as the legal process is widely expected to drag on for months after the Games conclude this Sunday.

The European champion and world record holder - dubbed Miss Perfect - has been far from perfect in practice in recent days, which is hardly surprising given the maelstrom swirling around her.

“These last few days have been very difficult for me,” she told Russian broadcaster Channel One. “I’m happy to compete but I’m very tired emotionally.”

The bewildered teen admitted her emotions were sapped by sitting through hours of legal testimony as CAS met in Beijing to rule on whether she could compete - but, crucially, not her guilt or innocence over doping charges.

She added: “I sat there for seven hours, we had one 20-minute break, and I sat there and just watched. It was very difficult but it is apparently one of the moments that I have to go through.”

Valieva’s lawyers had three thrusts to their arguments - her age, minors are considered ‘protected persons’ with a different level of sanction for doping offences, her wellbeing and the ‘process’, with 45 days, 25 days longer than stipulated in guidelines, between her sample and the report of an adverse finding.

In addition they argued