Kamila Valieva falls, doesn’t medal in controversial 2022 Olympics figure skating finale
Kamila Valieva slipped out of a jump, fell out of a landing and tumbled all the way to fourth place in women’s figure skating as the weight of a doping scandal seemed to crush the gold-medal favorite’s spirit.
In an unrivaled scene of mixed raw emotions Thursday at the Winter Olympics, Valieva, the 15-year-old Russian phenom, buried her head in her red gloves before leaving the ice, sobbed while waiting for scores and became inconsolable when she realized her medal-less fate.
The image was contrasted with joyless gold medalist Anna Shcherbakova, 17, all alone except for the teddy bear cradled in her arm — a poignant reminder of youth in this pressure-packed sport — while waiting for her crowning moment. Valieva, Shcherbakova and silver medalist Alexandra Trusova — teammates for the Russian Olympic Committee — share the same coach (Eteri Tutberidze) whose training methods have fallen under suspicion.
“At the moment I have only the happiness from the fact that I was able to do everything I am capable of in my program,” Shcherbakova told reporters in Beijing. “I still haven’t realized that the competition has finished and this is the result. I haven’t understood what has happened.”
Valieva competed despite testing positive for a banned substance in December. The test result just came to light last week, after she helped the Russians capture gold in the team competition. She was ruled eligible this week by a court but stuck in an impossibly cruel position as powerful agencies and past figure-skating greats spoke out against her inclusion.
“I saw from her first jump how difficult it was,” Shcherbakova said. “What a burden it was for her.”
Follow all the 2022 Olympics action
- Daily updated medal counts, results, schedule, athlete bios and more
- American-born Eileen Gu wins historic halfpipe gold for China
- Complete TV guide to the 2022 Olympics
- Russia defends Kamila Valieva amid doping controversy
Valieva argued that trimetazidine, a heart medicine, entered her system by accident and was meant for her grandfather, but the World Anti-Doping Agency’s claim is that drug, when combined with two other legal substances she acknowledges taking, creates a cocktail used to boost endurance.
The crowd in Beijing chanted “Four more years!” and “Ka-mil-a!” at Valieva as her heartbreak began to sink in. NBC’s cameras zoomed in on her face and followed her behind a curtain, where Trusova wiped away tears and reportedly could be heard refusing to go to the podium.
Trusova, who reportedly was upset that she did not win gold, ultimately relented and joined Shcherbakova and bronze medalist Kaori Sakamoto of Japan.
“I am not happy with the result,” Trusova said. “There is no happiness.”
When Valieva took the ice as the last competitor to skate in the four-minute long program — the right earned as the leader after the short program — it looked like the Russian Olympic Committee would make history as the first country or delegation to sweep the top three spots in one order or another.
But there would have been no flowers on the podium or medals issued under those circumstances. The International Olympics Committee predetermined that the traditional celebration would be canceled if Valieva finished in the top three over concerns of later revoking her medal.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport cleared Valieva for competition because she had protected status as a minor and would suffer “irreparable harm” if she was disqualified. But the court left a full judgment on the case to a later date, creating an air of uncertainty on how an audience should perceive Valieva.
Valieva began the Olympics by making history as the first woman to land a quadruple jump of any kind at the Olympics by completing a four-rotation salchow as the leadoff skater for the ROC trio imposingly nicknamed the “Quad Squad.” After the failed drug test was revealed, Valieva handled the pressure Tuesday, finishing atop the field with a two-point lead over Shcherbakova.
Valieva’s long program was supposed to include four quadruples and seven triple jumps, including some in combination with bonuses awarded for the second half of the program. Her base-value score gave her margin for error to survive a mistake or two, but she compiled uncharacteristic mistakes. She left the arena without speaking to reporters.
Trusova, was in fourth place after the short program but leapfrogged Kaori Sakamoto for the silver medal as she executed a program with five quads and built a record technical score. As Valieva skated off the ice, the only question remaining was whether she had done enough to claim the bronze. She had not.
