Kamila Valieva, a 15-year-old Russian figure skater, has been cleared to continue competing at the Beijing Winter Olympics due to "exceptional circumstances", despite testing positive for a banned substance, The Guardian reports.
The talented athlete had assisted the Russian Olympic Committee in winning gold in the team event last Monday.
However, a sample taken from the teenager on Christmas Day came back positive on February 8 for trimetazidine - a heart medication that is banned at the Olympics.
The court of arbitration for sport (Cas) announced the decision just before 2 PM Beijing time at a hearing in a hotel on Sunday night. It said that banning the young athlete amid her doping case "would cause her irreparable harm". Valieva had attended the hearing via video link.
Matthieu Reeb, secretary-general for Cas, said: "The panel considered that preventing the athlete from competing at the Olympic Games would cause her irreparable harm in these circumstances."
Reeb also said that the delay between Valieva's doping test on Christmas Day and her results being reported on February 8, had been "extremely unfortunate as it affects not only the athlete but also the organizers of the Olympic Games."
"In other words, we will not have this case if these anti-doping test procedures would have been completed in one week or 10 days as it is generally the case," he added.
Reeb also said that the three-person Cas panel was "concerned" that if Valieva had been given a permanent suspension and she was later cleared or given a very small penalty, it would have caused "serious damage".
And so, Cas maintained that it would turn down an appeal from the International Olympic Committee, the World Anti-Doping Agency, and the International Skating Union to reinstate her provisional suspension.
It remains to be seen whether the young figure skater has escaped a doping ban altogether.
Explaining its verdict, Cas wrote: "On the basis of the very limited facts of this case, and after consideration of the relevant legal issues, it has been determined that no provisional suspension should be imposed on the athlete due to exceptional circumstances.
"The panel considered fundamental principles of fairness, proportionality, irreparable harm, and the relative balance of interests as between the applicants and the athletes, who did not test positive during the Olympic Games in Beijing and is still subject to a disciplinary procedure."
Valieva is now free to compete on Tuesday in the women's individual figure skating event.