Winter Olympics 2022: Court cites lab delay in ruling allowing Kamila Valieva to skate

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.

The judges who let Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva continue to compete at the Beijing Olympics blamed anti-doping officials in a legal document published Friday for a "failure to function effectively."

The Court of Arbitration for Sport explained its verdict in the case that has dominated Olympic headlines for more than a week in a 41-page document, citing the "untenable delay" at the testing laboratory in Sweden as a reason for letting the 15-year-old Valieva skate in the women's competition.

Valieva’s positive test for a heart medication was only revealed during the Olympics despite her urine sample arriving at the Stockholm lab on Dec. 29. The lab’s staffing was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

LIVE UPDATES: BEIJING OLYMPICS

Kamila Valieva, of the Russian Olympic Committee, falls in the women's free skate program during the figure skating competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

The full verdict was published early Friday, hours after the 15-year-old Valieva’s mistake-filled free skate dropped her from the lead to finish fourth in the women’s individual event at the Beijing Games.

Valieva was cleared to skate by an urgent CAS ruling Monday after an appeal hearing that started Sunday night and ended at around 2 a.m. Monday. The World Anti-Doping Agency and International Olympic Committee appealed against the decision by the Russian anti-doping agency to lift Valieva’s initial suspension, which had been triggered by the positive test.

"Put simply, athletes should not be subject to the risk of serious harm occasioned by anti-doping authorities’ failure to function