Reporter describes Kamila Valieva’s heartbreaking Olympic finish [CONTAINS SPOILERS]

Christine Brennan and Patrick McEnroe take the Russian Olympic Committee and the IOC to task in the wake of World Champion figure skater Kamila Valieva's "heartbreaking" Olympics finish just days after being in embroiled in controversy over a failed drug test.
#ChristineBrennan #CNN #AtThisHour

71 comments

  1. I feel so sorry for her for being used and discarded by the people she trusted. I also feel sorry for all the other skaters who’s hard work is overshadowed by this fiasco 🙁

    1. @SIPIRITUAL SOUL GAZERGAZER I agree with you, they believe every word of their medias 🤦🏻‍♂️

    2. @Chiena Avtzon how she could destroy her life? She was with Kamila, when everybody wanted to stop her and hated her. Crazy people…

    3. 🆘🆘🆘The Second Appeal of the citizens of Russia to the citizens of the United States of America!☣️⚠️☢️

      Dear Citizens of the United States of America. We, the citizens of Great Russia, are appealing to you with our request to stop your politicians from destroying our common world. It is not we who have come to you, it is you who have come to our home from the land which is many thousands of miles away. We, the People of Russia, want the armed forces of the United States of America and the NATO military forces to leave the territory of the former USSR in order to prevent the mutual destruction of our world. We are not interested in a nuclear war, but we will use any means necessary to defend and liberate our homeland USSR and the countries of the former Warsaw Pact, as we have done many times in our history!
      Please leave soon, or things will be different. We hate an idea to strike the Nevada nuclear testing site with the intercontinental nuclear missile to convince you even more how serious are our intentions! Don’t make us to do it! Please be reasonable, do not make your situation worse than it is.
      Please do it in the name of peace on Earth!🇷🇺🛡️🐻⚔️💂 🚀🎳💥💣 🗽🍿🍔🍟🇺🇸

      The citizens of Russia.💌

  2. I do not think a 15 year old has the emotional/mental bandwidth to tolerate this kind of crap. Age limits are needed.

    1. @Javier Fernandez – The CAS decision to allow Kamila Valieva to skate, did much more damage to her. As it awarded her abusers, and destroyed her life. What the world witnessed, during that free skate, was a teenage girl who just learned how meaningless and disposable her talents were.

    2. @TheNewGreenIsBlue Kaori looked like a King Kong next to the Russian girls. And her program is way weaker than Russians. Get glasses please

    3. @TheNewGreenIsBlue While I agree with most of your points, none of the other female skaters come even close to the level of difficulty and grace that the Russian girls displayed.

  3. This debacle was horrible but 100% predictable. When the IOC rules are not strictly enforced, chaos happens immediately, every time, like clockwork. It’s not complicated.

    1. @Glen M. Danielsen Well, we all don’t know how complexity it is, but like to make the judgement on her. What we do know so far 1) that the probe was NOT from Olympics but from couple of months ago; probe from Olympics was ok; 2) tthe court didn’t gave her free pass, just delayed hearings, she still can be stripped from her medals and banned if found guilty later on.

    2. @Shawn Hennity Good points. Still, the circumstance put Kamila under an unbearable kind of stress. Let’s both of us at lease pray for her. 🙏🏼

    3. @Glen M. Danielsen I’m not a praying person normally, but yes we need to pray for her. She buckled under pressure, maybe she was instructed to, maybe not. Maybe she knew she was taking a cardiovascular cocktail that potentially could get her banned from the sport, maybe not. At the least, the coach needs looked into, former skaters who have spoken out against this coach in the past will most likely have some more things to say in the coming days. But in the end, you are right, this Kiddo, and I mean Kiddo, (as I listen to my 15 year old daughter play with her friends on the xbox), will need prayers, and possibly an offer of a new country to come home to. At 15, everything she has known has just come crashing down, and you can bet on the fact that she will be dumped by this coach within the next 24 hours. If she hasn’t already been tossed aside.

    4. She skated clean at the olympics and at the tournament before, the European championship- she was tested at the both events. Plus, the drugs that were detected in her system at a tournament in Russia are not performance enhancers. Anyway, she was set up by someone, and they intentionally waited 6 week to speak up about the results she had. There’s no need for her to dope at 15, even for adult skaters it is very rare to dope in this sport, simply not necessary.

  4. There’s an enormous of pressure heaped onto these world class athletes, we’ve seen it with professional tennis stars who have given notice to the global pressure placed onto them, some of our own gymnastic stars have felt the pressure as well at past Olympics, People like Michael Phelps have talked about it, so this to me is something that goes with dealing with those psychological issues and how they greatly influence physical issues, in my humble opinion, of course maturity of mind and body are not always in sync

    1. @Carl that is my point actually. Sha’Carri Richardson was banned. You should have heard about it. It was all over the news.

    2. @Denby Maxwell since you seem to know so much about it, why don’t you tell us HOW MUCH 15-year-old Russian skaters like this girl who are doped by the team doctor and pushed to exhaustion and physical injury by the coach are actually getting paid? Well? You seem to know it all…..

  5. As someone who skates, I’ve been watching Kamila’s talent for years and she is just a marvel. I and many others predicted even just a few seasons ago that she would become the 2022 Olympic Gold Medalist. This has been heartbreaking on so many levels. The OGM, Anna Shcherbakova, looked lost and confused when she should have been celebrating. Also, look up Dr. Shvetsky. I think he’s played a big part in this with Eteri & company

    1. I can’t help feel she’s been publicly shamed and bullied by Adults 😐.. Clearly her talent is Gold medal Olympian.. Every pundit that pointed out their negativity upon her should reflect on their choice of action.

    2. @Carl That’s why “children” shouldn’t compete here, because adults can’t denounce an injustice in minors and if they do they are accused of bullying

    3. @Eve Lyne you shouldn’t be bullying whether it be a child or adult, especially when it is about a situation that hasn’t been properly investigated.

    4. @LongParsnip understand it, demanding justice isn’t bullyn, stop putting the feelings of your favorite over the facts. Doping = Disqualification. If the basic rules aren’t applied, the only ones who suffer bullun are the athletes who did compete fairly. Simple, Russia never denied the result, they only looked for ways to justify it

    5. @Storm yes bc if she’s not on the podium they probably will have a podium medal presentation. So she failed to allow her countrywomen to have their time in the sun.

  6. After I watched the Free Skate, my first thought was… “wow, I wish I had NOT watched that”. So heartbreaking and upsetting on so many levels. Kamila imploded… to put her through that was way more “irreparable harm”… she never should have been allowed to skate. And to see Eteri giving Kamila corrections as she skated off the ice… I was like, dang woman… give her a hug! Trusova’s temper tandrum was equally awful to watch. At first I thought she was upset for Kamila… then I read the translations. She was upset she got the silver and that everybody has a gold medal but her. Yeeeesh.

    1. None of this would have happened if the ioc had not of let Russia participate. They were barred from this Olympics for a doping scandal. They turn in with a different name and agree not to play the Russian national anthem. So her they are back. Another doping scandal. And very good skaters in shambles. Just perfect. Shame on the ioc

    2. @Anna S First of all, Lab delay and having it tested positive is two separate things. Does that mean if it was delay then there are some kind of conspiracy against Valieva? Or the test would not have been Accurate? Both of which have nothing to do with the delay.

      On the other hand, probably because of my profession (as I was a detective) we always looks at who benefit the most for some action, now if you look at the situation, who benefit the most from the delay result? It would have been Russia and Valieva, because this is quote as the express reason why she was allowed to compete in the first place. Set aside whether or not she dope, Russia have the ulterior motive to delay the reason, because everyone Valieva is up against would want the result to process ASAP so she would have been banned before the Olympic even started (Because the result would still be positive if they process it sooner).

      That is the reason why some pundit comment on RUSADA intentionally slow down the result, so she can enjoy the benefit of the doubt and continue to compete, had the result came in 10 days after the test, she would still be tested positive, and would have been banned and miss the game.

      Now, I am not into conspiracy either way, and I do not think we should Punish a 15 years old child for this, but CAS Decision on letting her skate after testing positive is THE WROST MOVE EVER, you basically see a brilliant skater, whether or not deserved to be medalled, go down under pressure like this, and if this is not irreversible harm , I don’t know what is, Geez, and I wonder would Valieva would ever recovered.

    3. @gloria welch yeah I agree that Russia should not be at the Olympics. The whole competition is a scam and disgrace for any self respecting athlete. You guys should enjoy the fat Asian skaters and Mariah bell taking first places.

    4. @sophie lawrenceAbsolutely Sasha or Anna should’ve been chosen for the free skate in the team event, but Sasha would’ve been crushed when she’s inevitably stripped of her gold medal after Kamila’s positive drug test.

    5. @Chiena Avtzon suppose what you say is true, don’t you think she could have picked a different coach, Eteri is not the only coach in Russia.

  7. I saw her other performances and they were otherworldly! She has so much talent and skill. Its absolutely obvious that this performance she was dealing with emotions that distracted her mind from her skating. She deserves the gold for her other performances alone.

    1. Do we know when she performed in other skating events she was not assisted with the same drug? This is why she will forever be marked by this incident.

    2. She wasn’t distracted. She was TOLD to fall during that final event. A skater with such incredible balance and skill and she falls all of a sudden four times in one event???? REALLY? The Olympic committee had already stipulated that because of the doping allegations against her that if she got the gold, neither she nor ANY OTHER Russian skaters in the top three they would be able to receive awards publicly on the podium afterwards. Do you think the Russians were going to settle for that? Obviously not. So they told her to fall on purpose multiple times so she wouldn’t get the gold which she otherwise would have gotten. So the other winning Russian skaters would get their awards on the podium. For the whole world to see. It’s called child abuse. The team doctor also doped this girl. He had already been caught doing it in the past. It was all dirty. The Russian coach didn’t care about her either. The Russians are all about winning. Coach was a slave driver, driving this poor young girl like an animal.

  8. It’s the best outcome honestly for everyone in current state. The stress is not just on Valieva but on all the skaters, especially her 2 teammates – to the point where Trusova had an outburst live on camera. She said what all of us have been saying. It’s not just Valieva that was likely mistreated behind closed door in her training.

    1. I believe Trusova, the silver medalist, had an outburst not because she was mistreated but because she didn’t get to win gold…

  9. Never at one point did I blame this poor kid through this ordeal. These kids are brainwashed from a very young age and have little to no control over what they are told to put in their bodies. I blame whichever coach(es) forced her to take any banned substances as well as the IOC for all this crap. Trust and believe that this 15 y/o girl was a victim in all this.

    1. ага ага напичкали бедного ребёнка взрослые. Родители такой умной девочки, великие тренера взяли и заставили скушать дозу, которая во первых ни черта не помогла бы ей а во вторых у этих взрослых должна быть как минимум олигофрения, что бы перед олимпиадой ,зная что будет тест, зная какое пристальное внимание к российским спортсменам и давать ребёнку допинг, или может всё таки у них нет олигофрении и они вполне себе адекватные люди чтоб такого не делать????Может всё таки стоит наконец то пораскинуть мозгами и понять, что что-то произошло? Либо подстава либо какая-то нелепая случайность ,неужели кто-то верит….божеееее

    2. All the kid gangbangers would love to have your support for all the felonies they committed……I remember the days, you got caught! Now you’re FED! Deal with the consequences!

    3. @Haruku Hitoki Man, your gangbanger thing is the dumbest thing I’ve heard all week. One has absolutely nothing to do with the other. Grow up.

  10. Shame on the coaches for making her feel so badly instead of comforting her. Shame on ALL the adults for allowing her to take the drugs or perhaps even giving them to her. She’s a child! They should all be banned from sports.

    1. Yeah, the Russian female coach was known for being a real b**** if you know what I mean. The only thing she cared about was pushing these young kids to the limit so they could win medals for Russia. There was no comfort forthcoming for ANY of those skaters.. It’s called child abuse.

    1. That is the main goal, to shut down eteri, but only because she is the best and able to ‘produce’ best figure skaters

  11. I wish the best for her. I’m only getting into this sport and clearly could see she is the best world class skater. I hope she returns on the world stage victorious and over comes this. Shes only 15 and can.

    1. unfortunately Eteri’s students have an expiration date of two years at a senior level. You are only getting into skating and there’s a huge back story. Too much for me to post. but Eteri’s students are referred to as disposable plastic bottles. This is due to cruel and unethical training including but not limited to, puberty suppression medication, training on major injuries, plus mental abuse which included putting one skater in a trash can due to a bad practice session. Plus, she teaches bad technique which no longer works for a skater once their body matures. Kamila is essentially done unless she switches coaches. But if she is given a suspension for doping, she will likely not come back. Eteri collects an outrageous 40% of her skaters winnings and endorsements. Eteri builds them up, gets the medals and money and then destroys them in a 3 year period. One year in juniors and two in seniors. Kamila will not likely get to her second year in seniors. You should subscribe to the Skating Lesson on YouTube and listen to some of the interviews and podcasts and you will get a better understanding of who Eteri is and it will also build your history and understanding of the sport.

  12. Christine Brennan nailed it “child abuse”. People are blaming Kamila, a child, we can’t blame her at all. I blame her coaches and Russia they want the little darling

    1. You blame Russia? What for? Why all Roussian (it’s correct) people are guilty for this? Firstly, prove that it was doping, that she wanted to use it. Do you remember American sportsmen that were dopingists? A lot! Some of them were not guilty according to court’s decision.

  13. The grown-ups in charge to lead this 15 year old the right path from start to finish all failed her. This girl did not need any form of performance enhancement or medication BS. She was gold metal material without this crap.

  14. This entire situation has me in tears. I feel for all of the Russian skaters. Eteri needs to go and I don’t know how she’s stayed for this long. Obviously she produces the best skaters, but this is not the way it should be happening. She creates the best skaters, but at what cost? All these girls are disposable to her since she knows she’ll be able to work with a better skater in the future. Fucking sickening

  15. I do agree it is heartbreaking that this happened to a 15 year old girl but I think a lot of people are not focusing on the most important thing. I think that people should be congratulating and focusing on the other clean skaters who are not getting to enjoy their olympic experience due to this incident. If you are going to let someone compete with a positive drug test just because she is young is unfair to other skaters. It is completely ignoring the 4 years of effort that other athletes put into this. Also if you are an athlete competing in the olympics rules are meant to be rules. If you are being scored the same as other athletes you should also be following the same rules. Valieva should not have been able to compete. Also all Russian skaters should be tested (the same as the Brazil women’s volleyball team getting tested in Tokyo because one of the athletes had a positive doping test) and the Russian coaches and adults who were in charge of this need to be punished, letting people know this is abuse and unacceptable in anyway.

    1. They overshadowed because their skills are not so good as Kamila’s or even though as Anna’a or Alexandra”s…

  16. Incredibly heartbreaking to see this young child crushed by those who exploited her. The sheer talent was evident without any intrusive measures.
    Wishing her all the best, stay strong Kamila ❤️

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