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Overwhelmed on all sides and mistreated by her staff, young skater Kamila Valieva collapsed: “It was hard to see”
The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach said on Friday that he was “very disturbed” by the performance on the ice of the Russian skater Kamila Valieva, entangled in a resounding doping affair and, visibly tested, unable to evolve in its usual level in the free program of the 2022 Olympics on Thursday.
Mr. Bach also indicated during a press conference in Beijing that he did not have “much confidence” in the entourage of Kamila Valieva, notably regretting their coldness and their attitude towards the skater following her death. competition.
“I was very confused yesterday when I watched on TV (the figure skating free program). I saw a performance where we saw the pressure on his shoulders. My career makes me know what the pressure is, but this one was beyond what I can imagine“, did he declare.
“Watching her break down on the ice, cry and try to finish her program was difficult. In every movement, his body language, you might see the immense stress“, continued the boss of the Olympic body. “She probably would have preferred to leave the ice and leave it all behind.“.
“And how she was received by those around her coming out of the ice… It was freezing, instead of trying to help and comfort her. We felt the distance and interpreting her body language (from her trainer, editor’s note) it was dismissive. How can you be so cold with your athlete?“, lamented Mr. Bach.
“It doesn’t give me confidence in his entourage, regardless of what may have happened, or will happen in the future, how (is it possible to) treat a 15-year-old underage athlete like that?“, he concluded.
Valieva, 15, was caught on the ice on Thursday by the case that dominates the 2022 Olympics. In the lead following the short program, she completely missed her free program with several falls and finally ranked 4th.
She left the ice in tears, her coach scolding her for her performance.
She had been provisionally suspended on February 8 by the Russian anti-doping agency for a positive anti-doping test for trimetazidine, the result of which fell the day following her victory in the Olympic team event with Russia.
This product, used to relieve angina pectoris, has been banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency since 2014 because it promotes blood circulation.
If this control was carried out on the sidelines of the Russian Championships at the end of December, the Valieva affair splashes the Olympic Games-2022. The day following the notification of his positive test, Valieva had obtained the lifting of his suspension, a decision confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) only 24 hours before his short program.
