Reactions to Russian skater Valieva failing drug test taken before Games

BEIJING : Following are reactions to Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva, who won gold in the team event at the Beijing Olympics on Monday, but failed a test for a banned substance before the Games:

INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE SPOKESPERSON

"We have to wait for the process to run its course. Obviously, we want to expedite it quickly, there are possibilities for that to happen, but I am not a lawyer so I am not going to get into it...but clearly those two are separate.

"We hope the issue can be expedited in the interest of every athlete, not just the Russian.

"We have 100 percent policy against doping and clearly we will pursue all doping cases till the end. But clearly in this specific case, it's an active case and we are waiting for it to be fully seen to the end."

ROB KOEHLER, FORMER WADA DEPUTY DIRECTOR

"There are three organizations to blame for Kamila Valieva's positive test, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

"By not banning Russia for four years, there was no need or desire for cultural change by Russian authorities... By allowing Russia a free pass these organizations have severely let down every single athlete in Russia because it’s business as usual.

"Athletes in Russia deserved a cultural change, they deserved the right to have the opportunity to compete clean, instead WADA, IOC and CAS favoured the power and influence of Russian sport over clean sport.

"Today is another sad day for clean and ethical sport. Clean athletes continue to suffer because of a broken system. For years athletes have been calling for WADA and IOC reforms and these calls continue to be ignored."

INTERNATIONAL SKATING UNION

"The International Skating