Sawt Falasteen - Russian skater Valieva vows to compete again after doping ban

Valieva failed a doping test prior to the 2022 Winter Olympics where she won team gold aged 15, testing positive for the heart medication trimetazidine. She was banned for four years in January.

"Of course I do have thoughts (about returning to sport), it's not the end," Valieva told journalists, RIA Novosti news agency reported.

"Leaving a sports career at such a young age is probably stupid. I will put in every effort in order to once more bring joy to viewers, myself, my trainers, and of course, all my fans," she said.

Valieva has said that she could have consumed the banned heart drug through eating a "strawberry dessert prepared by her grandfather on the chopping board where he used to crush his medication".

Her announcement received a positive reaction from Russian stars.

Renowned trainer Tatiana Tarasova told RIA Novosti: "She's a very young girl and very talented, of course she has every chance of a successful return to sport."

Tatiana Navka, an Olympic ice dancing champion, who is married to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, told Interfax news agency: "I'm sure Kamila will definitely return. The whole country loves her, the whole world, they are waiting for her on the ice... I'm sure she will find the strength and return her technical arsenal."

N.Shalabi--SF-PST