What's really going on with the Russian Ice Dancer, Kamila Valieva?

[SuperSange]

She apparently failed a drug test, sample taken on Dec 25th, and the results weren't reported until Tuesday. She's had several negative tests since, but why wait until now to report? Someone is up to something, but I can't find out what. I'd like to think they'd not be stupid enough to be doping (hence the ROC team as Russia were banned), so it's stinking of fish to me. Added to which, she's only 15, so are her coaches her guardians or something?

I just watched the video mentioned upthread (gymnastics rather than skating). It really highlights how hard and abusive the training can be.
And it meant that they saw the "nice guy" Larry Nasser as their friend, which he used in order to sexually abuse them. One girl trained with an undiagnosed broken leg for a month, told the pain was normal.

"At the Heart of Gold Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal" The full film is on YouTube:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_w4_BOLsjF8&t=661s

The judge at the end is awesome.

She's a natural, utterly exquisite on the ice.

I'm appalled by the stories of her coach, destroying these girls And using them as fodder.
As pp said it's a skating farm. I feel we extremely uncomfortable with the roc now. Surely it's the next me too movement?

That was bloody difficult to watch. They really need to rethink letting children in to the Olympics, even those cute little skateboarders (though that sport has a completely different ethos I still don't like children being there).

Sakamoto was fantastic, she is such a beautiful skater. I hope she's able to add the triple axel to get a few more points.

Scherbakova is also lovely to watch, though I agree with PP about Eteri as a coach. Trusova is boring to watch, despite her repertoire of big jumps. She has no artistry.

I hope this whole debacle makes the ISU change things. And I extra hope that WADA investigation doesn't just push things under the carpet.

I don't have much confidence in the IOC tbh. They should have done a complete ban and this has shown what Russia actually think.

Children shouldn't be competing. I'm worried for Kamila's mental health

Did no one think she was told to deliberately throw the competition so that she didn't win a medal? Because if she'd ended up winning 1st, 2nd or 3rd then they'd already said there would be no podium and no medals.

So by ensuring she came 4th she allowed her team mates to receive medals on the podium.

I think it was planned to ensure Russian medals as soon as they told her she wasn't allowed a medal ceremony if she won.

@saltedBubbly

Did no one think she was told to deliberately throw the competition so that she didn't win a medal? Because if she'd ended up winning 1st, 2nd or 3rd then they'd already said there would be no podium and no medals.

So by ensuring she came 4th she allowed her team mates to receive medals on the podium.

I think it was planned to ensure Russian medals as soon as they told her she wasn't allowed a medal ceremony if she won.

Salted bubble, I just watched it now on catch up & was coming on to post the same thing... Anything is a possibility with Russia.. However Anna Scherbakova was amazing, loved her performance... Didn't enjoy trusova at all, I've seen her perform the same routine with much more gusto, the jumps were amazing but her artistry, transitions & spins let her down...

I may be wrong but even if she had won bronze that would have denied the gold and silver medal winners their podium moment. So she conveniently got 4th...

Just enough mistakes to land out of the medals.... She was 5th in the free... Poor girl, I doubt we'll see her compete again, eteri has a whole rink of amazing skaters.. Poor girl probably won't want to anyway after the desperate experience she's has..

I feel so so sad watching how this has all unfolded . I wish there was something we could do to influence the outcomes, reward the ethical coaches. The whole thing stinks, that poor poor girl

Not to mention the fact that the sport has evolved into one that rewards boring quad-jump producing machines rather than those who interpret the music with grace and beauty. I'm glad that the woman who won gold did so on her content beating the technical quad packed effort of the other woman.

I would love Kamila's story to have a happy ending.

Maybe this isn't possible within Russia with current coaching methods. But I've been reading about another young Russian skater Evgenia Medvedeva who left the same dodgy Russian training camp seeking more autonomy. She began working - successfully - with Brian Orser, a humane coach, in Canada (although found herself training in Russia again because of the pandemic).

If Kamila could move away to a more nurturing training environment, it would be a reassuring development. It can't be the end of the road for her at 15.

You had to admide Trusova's athleticism, but it wasn't a performance that would hook anyone on the sport, whereas Schcherbakova and Sakamoto were pure poetry. I particularly loved the gold-medalist's performance after the music switched- the tempo really showcased her musicality and dance ability. Sakamoto was all strength and lovely lines, too. The quality was astonishing this year.

I am missing the fun of a Carolina Kostner, but the Austrian Olga Mikutina did imbue her performances with some of that magic. One to watch!

It's too farfetched to think Valieva placed fourth on purpose. With the way it's marked it would be impossible to wangle.

And @SummaLovin I agree with your assessment. Her chorey was actually so uninspired and dance-free though that at first I thought she'd forgotten it, until she came off the ice beaming in triumph.

The Olympics will forever be tainted for allowing child abuse to happen in plain sight.

Brian Orser was a brilliant skater in his own right. I remember the Olympics where he and Brian Boitano competed against each other and both had similar military style routines.

I think it is high time international skating and the IOC restricted competition to adults.