If you don’t want to know what happened in the Olympic Female Figure skating free skate (which was aired in full, in real time, on the USA network – they re-air the top 18 or 12 competitors in prime time on NBC) keep scrolling.
I just got done watching the full program. Aside from who won, and, it’s not who you think, I am still processing what I just saw.
Yes, two of the Russians made it to the podium. And since there actually was a medal ceremony, you can already figure out, Valieva didn’t make the top 3.
She fell, a lot.
I watched her program, this same one, when she competed in the team event, which she performed without the drugs that were found in her system in December, and she performed it flawlessly.
This time, her heart wasn’t in it. She looked as if she just wanted to get it over with. I can’t imagine the mental toll on this 15-year old kid.
And that sick and twisted bitch of a coach needs to be banned from ever coaching again.
Yeah, two of her skaters made the podium. But are the medals worth it after what she has done to these girls to get them there? All that mental and physical abuse these girls went through?
Alexandra Trusova, who won a silver, with a technical score that was off the charts, but who has zero artistry (her artistic score was 35 points lower than her technical one), was throwing a temper tantrum because her teammate, Anna Shcherbakova, who had a lower technical score won, largely based on how beautifully she interpreted her program artistically.
They actually showed Trusova, crying, flailing her arms around, and saying ‘I’m not going out there (to the podium). I don’t want it. I hate this. I hate everything. I’m never going out there.’
Some old Russian guy kept telling her ‘nye hochish, nu nada.’ Meaning ‘you don’t want it, but you have to.’
This is what they do to these girls. Anything that isn’t gold, is a disgrace.
Forget that you just beat 23 other women from all over the world, you couldn’t beat your teammate, so you suck.
That, in addition to the abuse these girls get, the starvation, the constant scrutiny over every ounce of weight – they’re afraid to drink water for fear their coach won’t let them skate or will kick them off the team if they gain an ounce of weight.
Imagine?
Their parents aren’t allowed to be around them during competition season.
Imagine?
This woman claims she needs to be tough because that’s how you produce winners.
This is beyond just being tough – this is child abuse.
Meanwhile, when Kamila came off the ice, what we saw and what was said were two different things. The coach had her arm around the girl, who was crying, and she just blasted away at her, critical of this girl, who SHE failed by making her take a drug that she didn’t need to take (as was evidenced by her performance in the team event and all the other competitions where she skated clean).
This kid was put into this situation. Her failure to produce the gold that was expected of her by this monster, was not on her. She is a child, a human being, expected to be a robot.
And the court of arbiters for sport, the CAS, who allowed her to compete despite the failed drug test is also to blame here. They should have suspended her as they were asked to by the IOC. She could have proven herself in four years at 19.
There was one member of the Russian coaching team who was kind to her when she got out of the kids and cry area. She told Kamila ‘don’t worry. It’s over. You will skate again and it will be okay. This isn’t the end. You will skate again.’
If I were this girl’s parents, I’d leave Russia. Go to a neighboring country, or leave Eastern Europe altogether. Get her some mental assistance because this whole situation took its toll and you need to be mentally fit as well as physically fit to do what she does. Get her a good coach who isn’t a monster, if she indeed wants to compete again, and let her prove to this coach and the world, that she can win without being abused.
Beyond all that, Shcherbakova did skate beautifully. But there was no one congratulating her. She sat there, for a while, alone, in the winners lounge, looking lost and stunned. She had just won the Olympic gold and everyone was paying attention to Trusova throwing a tantrum because in her mind, the silver medal was a total loss.
I’ve been watching figure skating for as long as I remember. And even the drama of the Kerrigan/Harding situation, where neither won gold (Oksana Baiul won the gold, Kerrigan won silver), wasn’t this bad, this deflating.
Eteri Georgievna Tutberidze, the coach, needs to be permanently banned from all figure skating. The team doctor, Filipp Shvetsky, who has already been a part of an Olympic doping scandal with the Russian Men’s Rowing team, also needs to be banned from the Olympics. They both need face the harshest penalty available – $1 million fines and up to 10 years in prison – for what they did to this girl.
Honestly, to me, even that would be too light of a penalty. They both deserve worse.
That said, there were some highlights. Some of the performances were glorious.
American figure skater, 16 year-old Alyssa Liu, who came in 7th, had a beautiful, joy filled program. This girl will be a contender in 2026. Mariah Bell, who skated flawlessly to ‘Hallelujah’ had one of my favorite programs of the competition (and no, it’s not just about the song, lol), came in 10th.
And one of my favorite performances was You Young, from South Korea, who came in 6th skating to “Les Miserables.”
Rounding off the top three was Higuchi Wakaba, from Japan, who skated beautifully as well, and accepted her placement with the grace and poise of an Olympic athlete.
I love figure skating. I watch competitions when I can in between Olympics. This entire situation has left it’s mark. And while I look forward to the pairs events, and the gala, I can’t help but feel the Russians and their underhanded, relentless need, to come out first, no matter how dirty their tactics, and with zero care as to the lives of their athletes, have sullied this sport, and all others. And that’s just really sad and unfair.
The IOC, CAS and all other athletic entities really need to take a hard look at this situation. The banning of the Russian flag and anthem from podium events clearly had taught the Russian Olympic committee nothing.
Something needs to change.
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