Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva claimed she had "became an adult" through her experience at last year's Winter Olympics in Beijing when she faced allegations of doping ©Getty Images

Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva had claimed she was "strengthened" at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, where the then-15-year-old was the subject of a high-profile doping scandal.

Speaking after a second-place finish in the final of the Russian Grand Prix, Valieva reflected on her experience at the Games.

"At the end of this season, I am more satisfied with myself," the 16-year-old said, as reported by Russia's official state news agency TASS.

"I grew up, a lot of things happened in my life.

"But what happened there [at the Olympics] finally strengthened me, I became an adult in one moment.

"Thanks to the support of my coaches, relatives, the people I meet, I remain steadfast.

"I can’t say that this season I improved, I went into a decline, it’s impossible to go only up.

"At some point there will be a small gap, but on the contrary, it encourages me to continue working."

Kamila Valieva has thanked the support of her family and coaches following the doping scandal at Beijing 2022 ©Getty Images
Kamila Valieva has thanked the support of her family and coaches following the doping scandal at Beijing 2022 ©Getty Images

Valieva was a star heading into Beijing 2022 and helped the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) to win the team figure skating gold.

insidethegames then exclusively revealed that she was at the centre of a doping scandal, and she was only permitted to compete in the women's singles by a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) panel.

Valieva slipped from first to fourth after the free skate following an error-strewn performance.

The medal ceremony is yet to take place for the team event to the frustration of skaters from the second-placed United States, third-placed Japan and fourth-placed Canada, who could all still be upgraded.

Kamila Valieva helped the Russian Olympic Committee to earn team figure skating gold at Beijing 2022, but the medal ceremony has yet to take place because of the ongoing doping case ©Getty Images
Kamila Valieva helped the Russian Olympic Committee to earn team figure skating gold at Beijing 2022, but the medal ceremony has yet to take place because of the ongoing doping case ©Getty Images

A Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) Disciplinary Committee ruled in January that she had committed an anti-doping rule violation after testing positive for trimetazidine but was not to blame for it, and opted only to disqualify her results at the Russian Championships on December 25 2021, the date of the sample collection.

The World Anti-Doping Agency and International Skating Union have appealed to CAS seeking further sanction, including disqualification of her Beijing 2022 results which would deny the ROC team of their gold.

This was welcomed by the International Olympic Committee.

RUSADA also appealed its Disciplinary Committee's ruling and is seeking "appropriate consequences" for Valieva.

Valieva was voted Russia's most popular athlete in a survey conducted last year by the state-owned All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center.