Olympics 2022
“They were thrown to the world to eat”: Katarina Witt cries because of Valiyeva in the TV studio
Katarina Witt was completely dissolved in the ARD studio after Kamila Valiewa’s freestyle
© screenshot ARD
Anyone who wanted to know how tragic the failure of the Russian figure skater Kamila Valiewa was, only had to watch the performance of the expert Katarina Witt in the ARD studio: she was completely distraught – out of pity and anger.
Former figure skater Katarina Witt knows what she’s talking about. At 18, she won gold at the Sarajevo Olympics and went on to become an international star. The second gold medal in Calgary four years later did the rest. Now Witt was a figure skating expert as a guest in the ARD Olympia Studio with presenter Jessy Wellmer. She was invited because of the freestyle of the 15-year-old Russian Kamila Valiewa.
The whole world was waiting with great excitement for the appearance of the currently best figure skater in the world, the talent of the century and child prodigy who is suspected of doping. Even before the freestyle, Valiewa had written one of those stories that will be told for a long time after the games are over, because they shape this Olympics like no other. A day after the team competition in which Valiyeva won gold, it was announced that she had tested positive for a doping drug in December. According to a ruling by the International Sports Court Cas, she was still allowed to compete in singles.
Katarina Witt turns away from the camera for a moment
When the freestyle was over and the studio was switched back to, one saw a dissolved Witt. She had tears in her eyes and even turned away briefly to hide her misery: “I’m sorry, it’s hard to bear,” she said.
Valiewa had screwed up her freestyle routine by every trick in the book. She fell several times. It was a really big tragedy that happened on the ice in Beijing. The young Russian ended her performance in tears, her lead after the short program was gone, she dropped back to fourth place. She had failed across the board. Gold went to her compatriot Anna Shcherbakova.
Apparently Valiyeva could not withstand the pressure and the “tsunami”. Witt apparently touched the fate of the 15-year-old deeply: “She was a shadow of herself when she went out there,” she said, horrified. “She couldn’t win here in the whole game.”
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Witt made serious accusations against those responsible behind Valiyeva in particular, without naming specific names. “What happened now is the worst of all. She broke it. She’s a 15-year-old child, she had to get out of there. I think she’s been thrown to the world to eat. Everyone was watching and had to you break.”
Witt alluded to the trainer Eteri Tutberidze, who was considered unscrupulous, but also to the “political pressure” in Russia. The Russian media portrayed Valiyeva as a victim and called on her to win. “She’s the complete loser in the whole game, a 15-year-old girl,” Witt said. The former Olympic champion wished that Valiyeva’s “mother” or “responsible people had put her “on the plane” “before this tsunami hit her”.
When asked by presenter Jessy Wellmer whether we will ever see Valiewa again, Witt affirmed: “Well, I hope she really is a talent of the century. (…) I hope she survives that. But I almost have it Fear that she won’t make it, that the next runner will be there, the next 14-year-old, who might be just as good. That’s why I think it’s time for this sport to think about whether there shouldn’t be an age limit.”
Witt’s proposal is intended to protect the girls from the methods of a coach like Tutberidze. Many young and successful runners have emerged from their famous cadre forge, who quickly disappeared from the scene after success at a young age. Witt has long advocated a minimum age of 18 for major competitions. After Valieva’s story, she has one more reason to be even more committed to it.
Source: “sport show”