Russia's Valieva returns to ice after doping ban / Photo: Alexander NEMENOV - AFP
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Russia's Valieva returns to ice after doping ban
Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva made her long-awaited return to competitive sport on Saturday, wowing judges at a national championship with a quadruple toe loop but falling short of her rivals in points.
Her appearance at the Russian Skate Jumping Championship in Moscow is her first since a four-year doping ban expired in December.
The 19-year-old former child prodigy propelled Russia to team gold at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, but lost that title and others after it emerged she had failed a doping test in December 2021, a decision the Kremlin denounced as "politicised".
The ex-Winter Olympian scored 29.28 points from judges on the first day of the championship -- placing fourth behind her rivals Alisa Dvoeglazova, Maria Zakharova and Dina Khusnutdinova.
The top six skaters advance to the second day of competition on Sunday.
Valieva's fans cheered her throughout, unfurling a banner that read "We waited" and throwing soft toys onto the ice after she also competed in the duet event with Mark Kondratiuk.
"I love this sport and am so happy to be here," she told a state TV reporter at the event.
Valieva's four-year retrospective suspension ended on December 25 at midnight.
She was a favourite to win the individual title at the Beijing Games in 2022, but ended finishing fourth after delivering an error-strewn performance under pressure.
She will have to wait until the 2030 Winter Games to make her Olympic return, having missed out on qualifiers for the 2026 games in Italy next month.
O.Johnson--AMWN