‘Thank God’: NBC’s Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski Deliver Stirring Commentary After Russian Skater Who Flunked Doping Test Fails to Medal
NBC’s Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir delivered stirring commentary after 15-year-old Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva — who competed despite failing a test for a banned substance — did not win an Olympic medal Thursday.
“Thank God!” Weir said after Valieva’s scores were announced following an uncharacteristically error-ridden free skating performance, co-commentator Terry Gannon also pointing out that “there will be a gold, silver and a bronze medal in the women’s event in Beijing.”
“And to have done it cleanly,” Weir noted.
Valieva was left in tears following her performance, and her coach Eteri Tutberidze, who will be investigated over the skater’s failed drug test, was caught on camera asking the athlete, “Why did you let it go? Why did you stop fighting?”
Lipinski and Weir noted that while Russian figure skater Anna Shcherbakova placed first at the Olympics, she didn’t “seem like a gold medalist,” as she stood alone while much of her team consoled Valieva.
Runner-up Alexandra Trusova was also clearly devastated, as her history-making five quadruple jumps did not land her a gold medal.
“I hate this sport,” she was heard yelling at the side of the rink. “I won’t go onto the ice again.”
“But this is why you don’t let something like this happen in the first place, because it affects everyone involved, not just Kamila,” Lipinksi said as cameras showed Shcherbakova standing all alone. “But this girl just won the Olympics.”
Weir added that these athletes live alongside one another while training together, noting that “it’s hard not to be affected when you see that reaction and that destruction of a young person at the end of their performance.”
“I don’t even know what to feel or think. You’re watching her go through this pain, she’s 15, again, I blame the adults around her,” Lipinski said of Valieva as cameras showed her breaking down in tears. “But to even be put in this position, but then all the other athletes, what they’ve gone through this week.”
Weir noted that every athlete at the Olympics has “given up so much of their lives for this dream,” commending those who “have competed here clearly.”
“But it is heartbreaking to watch Kamila have to go through this,” he added. “The people around her should have kept her away from this and shielded her from this, kept her from competing here.”
“I can’t imagine how tough this has been on Kamila and it makes me angry that the adults weren’t able to make better decisions and guide her and be there for her because she is the one now dealing with the consequences,” Lipinski said. “And she’s just 15 and that’s not fair. With that being said, she should not have been allowed to skate in this Olympic event.”
Watch above, via NBC.
