Russian figure skater banned
Victim of a brutal system: How child prodigy Valiyeva was burned
A few days ago, Kamila Valiyeva performed in Russia, but her career may have been destroyed
© ITAR-TASS / Imago Images
The Russian figure skater Kamila Valiyeva was a talent of the century. Then she was convicted of doping in Beijing and has now been given a four-year ban – but those responsible are getting off unpunished.
The World Anti-Doping Agency Wada initiated the Cas proceedings because the Russian anti-doping agency Rusada had refrained from imposing penalties. WADA said it had appealed “in the interests of fairness for the athletes and clean sport” and believed that this was the right decision. “Doping by children is unforgivable. Doctors, trainers or other support staff who have administered performance-enhancing substances to minors must face the full severity of the World Anti-Doping Code, Wada said in the statement.
Kamila Valiyeva’s career is probably destroyed
Apart from the legitimate fight against doping, the Valiyeva case makes one thing particularly clear: how merciless the sports system in Russia is. A then 15-year-old was convicted of doping and two years later her career was presumably destroyed. But those responsible in the background are allowed to carry on. No punishment, no sanction, no sense of responsibility when dealing with very young talents like Valiyeva. Trainer Tutberidze continues to drill teenagers for success. That’s the true scandal.
To understand how brutal the system is, one need only look back to February 2022, when the entire world witnessed a heartbreaking tragedy on the ice. The news of the positive doping test broke right in the middle of the Olympic Games in Beijing. The Russian figure skating team had just won the gold medal in the team competition. Valiyeva was a key factor in the success. The talent of the century had conjured up flawless quadruple jumps on the ice. Now gold should follow in the individual competition and Valiyeva should become one of the superstars of the games.
Figure skating at the Olympics
A 15-year-old talent of the century is making Olympic history
The team management and coach Tutberidze did not want to be deterred by a positive doping test. The Russian Anti-Doping Agency lifted the provisional suspension. Those responsible sent the young athlete back onto the ice in the individual competition. In the short program, a visibly unsettled Valiyeva maintained her form and took the lead in the competition. But then came the freestyle, the heart of the competition.
No 15 year old can handle that much pressure
What happened on the ice back then is probably one of the saddest stories Olympia has ever told. Valiyeva took office “with reservations”, that was the official term. She had previously attended CAS hearings in the middle of the night, where the suspension and its lifting were being discussed. She told the ridiculous story about her grandfather’s glass of water, which she claimed to have drunk from and which supposedly contained traces of the heart medication. She was the focus of global media attention. And she should win gold for Russia. No 15-year-old can handle that much pressure, regardless of how talented she is.
Watch Waliyeva’s freestyle in the Eurosport broadcast here
The freestyle turned into a complete disaster. As the world watched, Valiyeva stumbled on the ice and fell three times, not counting wobbles. When the spectators thought that the bitterly evil spectacle could not be improved, the trainer appeared. The images of the devastated Valiyeva receiving criticism from Tutberidze after the end of the free program and then waiting between the trainer and an official for the evaluation are unforgettable. The gold medal was gone, it was fourth place. Gold and silver still went to Russia, which competed under a neutral flag because of proven state doping (that’s another story).
The winners of Beijing, Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Tusova, were also runners from Tutberidze. That makes it even more incomprehensible that Valiyeva ran. Even if she had wanted to, they would have had to stop her. Now, two years later, the case is officially closed, although the Russian Figure Skating Federation has announced that it will closely examine the verdict.
Sources: “Southgerman newspaper“, “Mirror“, “t online“.