MADRID, 18 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, lamented what happened this Thursday with the Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva during the final of figure skating on ice at the Winter Olympics in Beijing and confessed that he found “chilling” the way in which she was treated by her coach after making some mistakes in the Long Program.
The young 15-year-old athlete was at the center of the controversy after being authorized to compete by the TAS despite having tested positive for doping control in December and was the favorite for gold, but landed wrong in two of her executions and finally placed fourth. Her coach, Eteri Tutberidze, despite the bad time the skater was going through, did not console her, some images that Thomas Bach did not like too much.
“When I saw how she was received by her closest entourage, it seemed extremely cold to me. It was chilling to see that, instead of comforting her or trying to calm her down. This does not give me much confidence about her inner circle, either because of what happened in the past or what may happen in the future, on how to treat an athlete under the age of 15 who struggles visibly. I can only wish that she receives the support of her family, friends and people to help her through this very difficult situation.” Bach said this Friday at a press conference.
The German described this story “as very sad” and claimed to be “very, very upset” when he saw the competition. “I saw in her contest how much pressure she must have felt. From my experience as an athlete, I know a little bit about pressure, but I think it was beyond what I can imagine, especially for a 15-year-old girl,” he warned.
The leader indicated that he could “feel immense mental stress” in the Russian in his attempt to “regain his composure, to try to finish his program and in each movement of the language.” “Perhaps he would have preferred to leave the track and try to put this story behind him, although now he will not be able to do that as he faces a doping investigation and has yet to request a counter-analysis,” Bach said.
The IOC president stressed that they appealed to the TAS for the presence of the Russian because they did not want her to “participate”. “We lost and we had to accept it. This is not chaos but the rule of law, it is justice,” he settled, while acknowledging that this experience makes them think about “the issue of minors in competitions for adults”, to which it requires “careful deliberation and consultation”.