"Fifteen-year-old Kamila Valieva, the gold medal favorite, was caught taking a banned substance, but allowed to compete anyway, pending an investigation. Under immense scrutiny, Valieva had an uncharacteristic meltdown in her free skate, missing the podium altogether. Leaving the ice, she was berated by her coach, Eteri Tutberidze, who left her fellow student, Anna Shcherbakova, alone in the "kiss and cry" to celebrate with no one. It was a spectacle that I hated watching."
"In the intervening years, the International Skating Union banned Russia, not for its systemic doping operation but due to the invasion of Ukraine. (Russia's ally Belarus has also been prohibited from competition.) Although individual Russian skaters haven't been entirely banned-more on that later-the absence of a whole national contingent will hopefully allow for a clean Olympics, free of questionably trained teenagers doing quadruple jumps amid a moral miasma."
At the 2022 Beijing Olympics, 15-year-old Kamila Valieva tested positive for a banned substance but was allowed to compete pending investigation. Under intense scrutiny Valieva experienced an uncharacteristic meltdown in her free skate, missed the podium, and was publicly berated by coach Eteri Tutberidze, who left Anna Shcherbakova alone in the "kiss and cry." The International Skating Union banned Russia and ally Belarus because of the invasion of Ukraine, while individual Russian skaters were not entirely barred. Russia's absence created a competitive vacuum that helped the United States win team gold and positioned it for its best figure-skating results in decades, with realistic medal prospects across multiple disciplines.
Read at Slate Magazine
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