The women’s figure skating competition ended on Thursday with victory for Russian Anna Shcherbakova, while her compatriot Kamila Valieva – who was the big favorite – collapsed under the too great pressure linked to the doping scandal which surrounded.
On the ice of the Beijing rink, she broke down in tears. Overwhelmed by the pressure put on her 15-year-old shoulders, Kamila Valieva failed to achieve her Olympic dream. The young Russian was the big favorite in figure skating. But the frail teenager did not manage to put aside the scandal. The latter is accused of doping after tests carried out in December showed traces of a banned drug in her blood. When this announcement was made last week, her name was first protected because of her age, before being confirmed, throwing into the limelight this young champion who has become in a few hours the object of all the doubts surrounding the presence from Russia to the Olympics. The country has indeed been banned from competitions since a vast state doping scandal revealed after the Sochi Games, and can only participate under the neutral banner of the IOC.
Despite the results of her positive doping test, the Court of Arbitration for Sport decided to let her continue the Olympic Games, the IOC then adding that if she were to win a medal, no podium would be organized for her or her competitors before the end of the Olympics. the investigation surrounding it. This announcement was strongly criticized and considered unfair, in particular by former American skating stars, Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski, believing that the IOC was sending a “bad message to the entire skating community”.
⛸️ Tormented by a doping case last week, Kamila Valieva finished at the foot of the podium (224.09).
A.Shcherbakova takes gold (255.95) ahead of A.Trusova (251.73), and S.Kaori (233.13).
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Faced with all these criticisms and debates, Kamila Valieva did not hold the shock and finished fourth in the competition. She was beaten by two of her compatriots, Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova, and by Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto. The three Russians share the same coach, and it is precisely her, Eteri Tutberidze, and the team around them, who are singled out today. IOC President Thomas Bach said he was “very disturbed” by Kamila Valieva’s performance and by the reactions around her, when she was inconsolable. “My career as a fencer means that I know what pressure is. But this was above what I can imagine, ”he commented at a press conference. “Seeing her break down on the ice, cry and try to finish her program was difficult. In every movement, his body language, you could see the immense stress. She would surely have preferred to leave the ice and leave it all behind her, “he explained, then regretting the” icy attitude “of his coach in whom” he does not have much confidence “. “Instead of trying to help and comfort her. You could feel the distance and interpreting his body language, it was dismissive. How can you be so cold with your athlete? How can you treat a 15-year-old underage athlete like this? “Why did you drop out? Why did you stop fighting?”, launched Eteri Tutberidze in particular when Kamila Valieva had just finished her program.
Tears of Alexandra Trusova
And the tears of the young Russian were not the only ones to flow Thursday. Alexandra Trusova also burst into tears after the competition. However, she had just made history by performing five quadruple jumps during her performance. But it wasn’t enough to beat Anna Shcherbakova. “I hate this sport. I will never go on the ice again,” she shouted. “Everyone has a gold medal except me. I hate skating. I hate this sport”. In a press conference, the 17-year-old explained her reaction to not having won anything major in three years as she continues to add quadruple jumps. “And when I do everything right to win, it doesn’t work,” she said before confiding that she cried because she has been “alone here for three weeks, without my mother and my dog”.
Faced with these dramas behind the scenes, the winner, Anna Shcherbakova, also aged 17, did not seem to know how to react, not being able to count on the warmth of her coach either. These images and stories have come to highlight the drastic methods of Eteri Tutberidze, who if she trains the greatest champions, is also accused of physically and emotionally abusing them. His opponents take as an example his former students who stop the sport before their 20s after a brief career, as was the case for Yulia Lipnitskaïa, who in 2017 retired at only 19 years old, announcing to suffer from anorexia.
Skaters too young?
The age of the competitors is also in question today. American Mariah Belle, 25, who participated in the Beijing Olympics and explained that athletes must be able to “have a career that lasts a long time, not just a year”. “If we had a minimum age limit, it would promote the idea of longevity and someone 25 would no longer be an exception at the Olympics.” Many observers are calling for reform in particular to better protect these young people from abuse and very serious injuries resulting from an ever-increasing race for spectacular jumps. Others believe, however, that having an age limit would reduce the chances of skaters and skaters winning titles.
After Kamila Valieva’s result, US Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart, quoted by ‘USA Today’, said he was “heartbroken for her because of the despicable acts of the adults in her life and the catastrophic failures of the systems Russians and the IOC who constantly cast a dark cloud over his performance”. “It is certain that these events weighed heavily on her and I hope that she will get the support she needs to move forward”.
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