Kremlin Defends Russian Figure Skating Coach After Avalanche of Criticism: ‘Toughness is Key’ to Winning
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The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics’ marquee event ended with the world watching “a child emotionally broken on live television.” That was how Slate’s Chris Schleicher described the women’s figure skating free skate competition Thursday night, which resulted in the embattled, 15-year-old favorite falling multiple times and failing to make the podium.
Critics, including the International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, noted that when Kamila Valieva exited the ice, clearly upset, she was greeted by a torrent of angry questions, not support.
“When I afterwards saw how she was received by her closest entourage, with…what appeared to be a tremendous coldness, it was chilling to see this,” Bach said at a news conference on Friday.
“Rather than giving her comfort, rather than to try to help her, you could feel this chilling atmosphere, this distance,” he added.
Bach was referring to Russian coach, Eteri Tutberidze, asking Valieva right after her disastrous performance:
“Why did you let it go like that? Why did you let it go?” she asked the 15-year-old. “Why did you stop fighting? Well, explain. You let it go after the axel”
Criticism of Tutberidze, whose skaters are known for being injury-plagued and for burning out at a young age, reached the Kremlin, which released a statement supporting the controversial coach.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, said, “Everyone knows that in elite sports the coach’s toughness is key to the students’ victories.”
Tutberidze came under intense scrutiny after Valieva failed a drug test ahead of the games, she was allowed to compete anyways due to her age. But, after Thursday night the criticism of Tutberidze hit fever pitch as both Valieva and another of her pupils, the silver medalist, Alexandra Trusova had very public breakdowns.
Schleicher explained the drama after the competition had ended:
As Valieva exited the kiss and cry, she passed silver medalist Alexandra Trusova, also crying, throwing what can only be described as a temper tantrum. When someone offered Trusova an arm of support, she jumped away and shouted in Russian: “I can’t see this! I won’t see this!” … “I hate it! … I don’t want to do anything in figure skating ever in my life! … Everyone has a gold medal, and I don’t!”
In his article, titled “I Hope to Never See a Figure Skating Event Like That Again,” Schleicher noted that even the skater who eventually won the gold medal, another pupil of Tutberidze, was robbed of a joy:
As Valieva retreated into the bowels of the stadium, the broadcast finally cut back to [Anna] Shcherbakova, the Olympic gold medalist. She stood alone, joyless, clutching a teddy bear in silence. She shifted uneasily, eyes cast down to the floor, unsure where to look. She sat back down again on a couch, no one on her team anywhere in sight. It was perhaps the loneliest image I have ever seen at the Olympics.
