MOSCOW, February 18 President of the Russian Figure Skating Federation (FFKKR) Alexander Gorshkov considers the situation around the Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva to be bullying. The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, at a briefing on Friday, said he was shocked at how coldly her coaches met Valieva when she left the ice after a free program at the Olympics, and expressed the opinion that such behavior of the athlete's environment does not give confidence in her future.
"The last statement of the head of the IOC regarding the cold towards Valieva by the coaches of the Tutberidze group is extremely perplexing, — the FFKKR website quotes Gorshkov. — Everyone who was next to Camila at that moment did everything possible to support her in this difficult moment. It is more than strange for us to hear that the same structures that, violating the rules and laws, did everything to morally crush Kamila, are now trying to shift the blame from a sick head to a healthy one, blaming the Tutberidze team".
In the individual competition, Valieva placed fourth, leading after the short program. On February 7, Valieva became the champion of the team competition at the Beijing Olympics as part of the Russian team, on February 8, the Russian Anti-Doping Agency received the result of the doping test of the athlete on December 25, which gave a positive result. The next day, the agency satisfied the athlete’s complaint for a temporary suspension, which was subsequently confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
"Everything that happened at these Games around Camila and our coaching staff from a number of officials and media representatives, otherwise You can’t call it real bullying,” the head of the federation said. — In the current situation, we clearly understood that the only way to preserve her mental health was to send her home as soon as possible, to her family, to relatives and friends. We asked the headquarters of the delegation to organize a flight for her on the next flight, accompanied by representatives of the federation".
The Olympic Games in Beijing will end on February 20.