sports 18 Sports
Red & Black
12 march 2022
Olympic Community Divided Over Skater Doping Scandal Sofia Jenkins Red&Black contributor
Courtesy gopresidents.com
Valieva talks with her coach after her performance at the 2022 Olympcs
One of the most talked about stories in this Winter Olympics is the Kamila Valieva doping scandal. The basics of the scandal are that after Valieva became the front-runner in the short program figure skating, a positive doping test came to light that was taken on December 25. This came about shortly
Courtesy Matthew Stockman via Getty Images, 2022
Kamila Valieva competing in the free skating team event during the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Bejing.
after Valieva helped Russia win Gold in the team figure skating competition. Valieva claimed that she accidentally ingested one of her grandfather’s heart medication pills that she had mixed up with her other two approved heart medication pills she regularly takes. This banned drug, Trimetazidine, was found to help endurance and help the body use oxygen efficiently. It is not allowed for usage in the US but is allowed for older patients in Europe. The Olympics suspended her for one day after the news of the positive test, but then removed the suspension and let her continue competing for the rest of the competition. Shockingly, she ended up not placing in the individual figure skating competition after failing to land two of her jumps in the free skate. Two of her Russian teammates picked up Gold and Silver, while a competitor representing Japan picked up the Bronze. The biggest piece of information to note in this
scandal is the age of Valieva. Valieva is only 15 years old and is one of the most talented figure skaters in the world right now. Valieva was allowed to return to competing in the Olympics because multiple Olympic committees agreed that since Valieva is only 15 years old, she cannot be held responsible for these actions. This consensus was met with a wide range of outrage from the figure skating community and the Olympic community in general. A lot of the blame is being placed on Valieva’s coach, Eteri Tutberidze. Russian figure skating coach Tutberidze has a long history of accusations about how she treats her athletes. Some have said she mentally and physically abuses them and pushes them to the point where they quit the sport entirely. The Olympic community is saying she should be the one held responsible for Valieva’s positive doping test, considering she is only 15 and needs the supervision and guidance of her coach.
