Country\u2019s Olympic Committee cheerful after CAS allows athlete to continue in Beijing
\n BEIJING:
\nRussia on Monday welcomed the announcement that its figure skater Kamila Valieva has been cleared to continue competing in the Beijing Olympics despite failing a doping test.
\n\u201cTomorrow the whole country will support her and all our wonderful female skaters in the individuals competition,\u201d Russia\u2019s Olympic Committee said on Telegram, calling it the \u201cbest news of the day\u201d.
\nKremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he was \u201chappy\u201d that the 15-year-old will compete in the individual skating event on Tuesday, where she is a favourite to win gold.
\n\u201cThe whole country hopes Kamila will win,\u201d Peskov told reporters.
\nEarlier Monday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport said that the teenage athlete could continue competing at the Games despite testing positive in December for a banned substance.
\nThe International Olympics Committee, however, said there will be no medal ceremony for the women\u2019s singles competition if Valieva finishes in the top three.
\nThere will also be no ceremony for the team event, won by Russia last week with Valieva playing a starring role and landing a historic quad jump.
\n\u201cAs for the medal for the team event, we hope that it will soon be awarded,\u201d Peskov added.
\nRussia is already under sanctions for a massive state-sponsored doping programme that reached its peak at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
\nRussian athletes are allowed to compete as neutrals \u2013 without the Russian flag or anthem \u2013 if they can prove their doping record is clean.
\nMascot cakes land bakers in trouble
\nChinese bakers looking to cash in on the popularity of the Beijing Winter Olympics mascot have ended up on thin ice after market authorities cracked down on sweet treats shaped like the cartoon panda.
\nOfficials cited licensing concerns for their swoops on the gastronomic homages to Bing Dwen Dwen, and one case of copyright violations — for producing pirated mascot dolls \u2013 has already landed a person in jail.
\nDepicted in a full-body ice suit, Bing Dwen Dwen has sparked long queues at Olympic souvenir shops \u2013 with many willing to fork out more than the official price to get their hands on one amid shortages.
\nWhile its name officially means \u201cice child\u201d in Mandarin, it is more colloquially translated as \u201cice chubster\u201d. It is often seen alongside Shuey Rhon Rhon, a lantern mascot for the Winter Paralympic Games.
\nAuthorities have said they are investigating several businesses using the Olympics symbols without permission.
\nOne bakery in the southeastern province of Jiangsu was reported for advertising cakes shaped like the rotund panda, and lacked \u201crelevant authorisation\u201d, local officials said Friday.
\n\u201cA six-inch cake in the shape of Bing Dwen Dwen was found at the scene… the parties made three such cakes, worth 600 yuan ($94),\u201d said the market supervision administration in Nantong city.
\nState media said authorities had received a \u201ctip-off\u201d about the alleged crime.
\nA dessert store in the eastern Shantou city was also stopped from selling sweet treats shaped like the mascot and bearing the Olympic rings, another official notice said.
\n\u201cIntellectual property rights such as patents and copyrights of Bing Dwen Dwen are owned by the Beijing Winter Olympics Organising Committee,\u201d the notice stressed.
\nOffending bakeries were also reported in other parts of the country, said state media.
\nWith the Lunar New Year coinciding with the start of the Olympics and affecting production of toys in the shape of the mascot, a supply shortage in recent weeks has seen scalpers selling the product for 10 times its original price of 200 yuan ($30), according to reports.
\nSpectators are largely banned from the Games due to Covid-19 restrictions, and owning the mascot may be the closest most people get to the Beijing Winter Olympics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Country\u2019s Olympic Committee cheerful after CAS allows athlete to continue in Beijing BEIJING: Russia on Monday welcomed the announcement that its figure skater Kamila Valieva has been cleared to continue competing in the Beijing Olympics despite failing a doping test. \u201cTomorrow the whole country will support her and all our wonderful female skaters in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":244578,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[4096,4095,338],"class_list":{"0":"post-244565","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-favour","9":"tag-kamila-valieva","10":"tag-russia"},"yoast_head":"\n