Russian Olympic doping scandal – how did we get here?

Here is what we know so far:

The 15-year-old figure skater became the first woman in history to produce a quadruple jump at an Olympics to help Russia win team gold on Monday.

She is also the favourite to win the individual event in the Chinese capital, which starts on February 15.

The medals ceremony for the team competition did not take place as scheduled on Tuesday — the first sign something was amiss.

According to the International Testing Agency (ITA), a sample was collected from her on December 25 at the Russian championships in Saint Petersburg.

A World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited laboratory in Stockholm found that she tested positive for trimetazidine, a metabolic agent used for the treatment of angina and vertigo but banned by WADA because it can increase blood flow efficiency and help endurance.

Valieva was informed of the result on February 8, the day after she helped Russia win gold, and the Russian anti-doping agency RUSADA immediately suspended her.

Valieva appealed against the suspension on February 9 and RUSADA lifted it that same day, allowing her to continue competing in Beijing.

Valieva is due to take part in the individual competition in Beijing next week and is one of the favourites for the gold medal.

She was still practising on Saturday but her Olympics hang in the balance.

The IOC, the International Skating Union (ISU) and WADA are all appealing against the decision to lift the suspension before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

CAS will hold a hearing on Sunday and expects to deliver its verdict on Monday afternoon.

The IOC hopes there will be a resolution as soon as possible. “Such cases are not helpful to the Games,” said spokesman Mark Adams.

The Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) has made plain its anger, saying Valieva has the right to compete and her team gold medal should stand. It also said that the teenage skater had taken, and passed, a doping test at the Games.

Valieva is yet to comment.

This is just the latest doping scandal involving Russian athletes at Olympics Games in recent years, which led to Russia as a country being banned for two years from the Games.

Russian competitors are only allowed to take part in Beijing under the flag of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) if they have been able to prove they were not tainted by the huge state-sponsored doping programme that targeted a range of summer and winter Olympic sports over a four-year period.

The scheme included manipulating doping tests at its home 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics when Russia topped the medals table.