Robin Cousins wades into Kamila Valieve drug test debate

Britain's Olympic skating gold medallist Robin Cousins has waded into the controversy over Russian schoolgirl skater Kamila Valieva and called for those behind her failed drugs test 'to be held responsible.’

A huge row has broken out between Russian officials and Olympic chiefs which could lead to the troubled teenager and her teammates being stripped of their gold medal.

The 1980 Olympic champion came out in support of 15-year-old Valieva, who has tested positive for a banned drug, and said she could not have known what practices were going on to help make her an Olympic champion.

Cousins said he was saddened that the youngster could find herself under such intense scrutiny at the Winter Olympics and that she would have performed as an accomplished skater without any banned drug.

She tested positive on February 8 - a day after taking gold in a team event - from a urine sample taken on December 25.

She was cleared by Moscow's anti-doping agency to keep competing, but that decision is now being appealed.

A Swedish anti-doping clinic found she had used the banned heart medication TMZ. The test was conducted on Christmas Day.

Cousins, 64, who won the figure skating gold medal in Lake Placid, told Mail Online: 'In my heart, I cannot believe that it has anything to do with a 15-year-old girl.

'I hope that when the final results are done, that the people who are responsible are held accountable.

'From a skating point of view, it is fairly obvious with the talent that she has, that she would have been doing what she is doing without this drug.

'She has the type of talent that means this was totally unnecessary. . . what was this for?

'We need to research exactly what was going on, and to explain the timeline on the results of