Kamila Valieva in Beijing. Photo: RIA Novosti
At the backdrop of a merciless and sparing fight against coronavirus, doping was almost forgotten, but he could not stand it, and even for a day, but came to the fore in Beijing. Why in Beijing — in the entire sports world! The beginning of the story was the postponement of the awards ceremony in team figure skating competitions from Monday for an indefinite period. According to the official version, due to a positive test for coronavirus in American single skater Vincent Zhou. By Tuesday night, the British edition of Inside the Games announced a completely different version of the cancellation of the event.
Two magic words “doping” and “Russia” stirred up the entire sports world, making them forget about what was happening at the Games. The interpretation of the version gave the scandal a planetary status: figure skating, a possible deprivation of a gold medal, an almost inevitable suspension, Kamila Valieva. The 15-year-old miracle girl Eteri Tutberidze and the newly-baked Olympic champion were in an instant appointed as both a violator and a victim, a large-scale discussion took place in the range from “these Russians will not calm down in any way” to “the damned Anglo-Saxons got to the bottom of us again”, from “it’s not her fault !» to «we didn't expect anything else.» Fuel to the fire was added by the fact that the gold medalists, with the exception of Sinitsyna and Katsalapov, did not come to the scheduled training. And Valieva did not come out without any explanations and comments.
The IOC and the International Skating Union remained silent, limiting themselves to the dry “there are legal issues”, focusing on the word “legal”, which hinted at problems with the special status of a minor athlete, who in principle was protected from direct punishment, but did not exempt from possible sanctions. According to insider information, it turned out that a suspicious sample was taken back in December, that a prohibited substance was found in a microdose, which, most likely, is the heart drug trimetazidine, which does not affect the improvement of sports performance, but this was the least attention paid. They waited for the verdict — some with hope, others with ill-concealed joy. Some were inclined to the imminent and inevitable deprivation of the Russians of gold and the expulsion of the main favorite of the competition — single skaters from Beijing, others predicted an acquittal.
On Thursday morning, Valieva calmly went to training, which could only mean one thing: she was not removed from the run. When evening was already falling in Beijing, no new news about the “Valiyeva case” came from Beijing. There was no official verdict. Olympic life went on as if nothing had happened. Questions, however, remained not only because there is no smoke without fire. Russia has fried too much with doping for the smell of this smoke to not disappear even years later.
The fact that a “suspicious sample” exists is practically not disputed by anyone. The fact that the information was thrown in at a very convenient moment, favorable for a collision with the possible deprivation of the Russian team of gold and its transfer to the US team, was also not in doubt. The background was favorable: just now the International Skating Union is aiming to increase the age limit for skaters, which could also be considered not only as a concern for the health of young athletes, but also as a
strike specifically against the total dominance of Russian single skaters from the school of Eteri Tutberidze.
A wonderful coach, in her desire to achieve the impossible, has put on stream the training of record-breaking girls for one Olympic cycle, depending on the attitude of admiring or terrifying the entire sports world. The existing grading system, almost entirely subordinated to technical complexity, fully suits her methodology, but really leaves questions about both the aesthetic side of the once attractive form of figure skating and the excessive, even prohibitive loads, including psychological ones, that fall on young champions. Excess can tear not only muscles, but also break the fate of athletes whose careers end at a young age. alt=»» />
Eteri Tutberidze watches Kamila Valieva's training in Beijing. Photo: RIA Novosti
Envy of Tutberidze's success is an objective thing, as well as complaints about the path she has chosen. At the same time, the increase in qualifications is an artificial attempt to return the process to its natural course, in fact, stopping progress in its modern, albeit somewhat ugly, form. There is such an almost insoluble tangle of contradictions that cannot be resolved in a couple of meetings.
I do not believe in the purposeful «feeding» of Tutberidze girls with prohibited means — even taking into account the all-Russian background, heavily implicated in the massive use of doping in very recent times. But it is also possible to assume that the prohibitive complexity of preparation may make it necessary to minimize the risks associated, in particular, with cardiological problems. How can you believe in the accidental entry of a prohibited substance into the body — due to elementary negligence and unprofessionalism of people responsible for the health of young athletes. We had a “watchman” who always knew who was allowed and who should not be allowed to take part in big starts, but this was not the only hypostasis of Grigory Rodchenkov, whom it is better not to remember.
I'm afraid that neither we nor much more competent and responsible persons can get to the bottom of the truth. If legally there is no fault with Kamila Valieva, and there are no grounds for punishing her entourage, then you just need to let the girl, who already had a lot of worries, speak calmly. She deserved it.