Photo: Du Xiaoyi-Pool/Getty
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach is speaking out about the aftermath of the women’s figure skating singles final on Thursday.
On Thursday, Valieva, 15, took the ice at theWinter Olympicsin the lead after the women’s short program, with a score of 82.16. Early into the free skate, shefell to the ice. On her final quad jump, she fell again, receiving another deduction for hitting the ice. She became visibly emotional after the performance, which landed her in fourth place.
After leaving the ice, her coach Eteri Tutberidze,questioned her in Russian, saying, “Why did you let it go? Why did you stop fighting? Explain it to me, why? You let it go after that axel,” theNew York Timesreported.
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“Thomas Bach is a very authoritative person in the sports world. Of course we respect his opinion but we do not necessarily agree with him,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday during a conference call, per Reuters. “He doesn’t like the harshness of our coaches but everybody knows that the harshness of a coach in high-level sport is key for their athletes to achieve victories.”
He added, “And we are seeing that the athletes are achieving victories. So let’s be proud of our winners, congratulate our medallists. Valieva was fourth but in high-level sport, the strongest wins.”
Valieva faced sharp criticism after failing a drug screening, reportedlytesting positivefor the banned heart medication Trimetazidine in December. The Court of Arbitration for Sport hadannounced on Mondaythat Valieva would not be suspended despite the doping controversy and could compete in the women’s competition.
In response to the situation, Valieva’s attorney reportedly had argued the banned drug entered Valieva’s body accidentally and likely belonged to the athlete’s grandfather, who takes Trimetazidine.
To learn more about Team USA, visitTeamUSA.org. Watch the Winter Olympics, now, and the Paralympics, beginning March 4, on NBC.
source: people.com
