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Daisy Maldonado
Feb 18, 2022
IOC President 'Disturbed' By Valieva’s Entourage
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Russian star Kamila Valieva received a "chilling" reaction from her entourage after a mistake-filled routine on the ice at the Beijing, Olympics.
International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach heavily criticized Valieva’s entourage for their “tremendous coldness” toward the 15-year-old skater after her free skate.
I have so much sympathy for Kamila Valieva right now. I can't imagine how difficult this must be for her, but she's also proving her grit for continuing to press ahead on the CHANCE that maybe she will be allowed to enter women's singles.pic.twitter.com/k3PRAkmrky— The Medal Count (@The Medal Count) 1644698908
Valieva, who has faced intense scrutiny and controversy due to a positive doping test, finished fourth.
During her routine, she fell multiple times.
This shocking placement came after she had helped Russia win a gold medal earlier in the Olympics, making it all the more devastating for the 15-year-old who received no consolation and a cold shoulder from her entourage.
Although he IOC president did not call out Valieva’s coach, Eteri Tutberidze, by name; she was seen on camera telling a distraught Valieva “Why did you let it go? Why did you stop fighting?"
"I must say I was very very disturbed yesterday when I watched the competition on TV," he said. Bach added, "When I afterward saw how she was received by her closet entourage with what appeared to be a tremendous coldness, it was chilling."
“Rather than giving her comfort, rather than to try to to help her, you could feel this chilling atmosphere,” he told reporters. “If you were interpreting the body language of them it got even worse because this was even some kind of dismissive gestures.”
"You could feel this chilling atmosphere, this distance," he explained.
"It was chilling." International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach has criticized Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva\u2019s entourage for their treatment of the 15-year-old after she made mistakes in her free skate at the Beijing Olympics.\n\nMore: https://apne.ws/2REmM3P\u00a0pic.twitter.com/AaypUSETaI— The Associated Press (@The Associated Press) 1645167308
Tutberidze and other members of Valieva’s entourage will be investigated over the teenager’s positive test for a heart medication ahead of the Olympics.
The IOC president also noted the pressure Valieva faced was “beyond my imagination.”
Online, many people were similarly disturbed by the way Valieva was treated.
Kamila Valieva should have been disqualified. Her coaches officially put under investigation & suspended. She should have been sent home to receive psychological support and be around her loved ones. Instead they used her as a pawn and made her crumble in front of the world— sara \u26f8 in my ISU anti era\u26f8 (@sara \u26f8 in my ISU anti era\u26f8) 1645106661
Very traumatizing Olympic experience for Kamila Valieva. She should not have been allowed to compete, it\u2019s devastating that she was put in this situation, on all levels.— Polina Edmunds (@Polina Edmunds) 1645106253
I think Kamila Valieva competing here might be more "irreparable harm" than if they had just suspended her. This is hard to watch.— marie hates eteri tutberidze (@marie hates eteri tutberidze) 1645106032
The Russian people should be appalled and embarrassed by how Olympic skaters Kamila Valieva & Shcherbakova were treated by their coach not to mention their treatment of Ukraine. No child should be in an abusive enviro like that & no people should be threatened like that.— Doug Jaraczewski (@Doug Jaraczewski) 1645195557
What those coaches & Russia did - feeding banned substance to Kamila Valieva- a child - is an outrage. And heartbreaking. She is such a talented skater she could have won without that stuff. But they broke her.pic.twitter.com/CZkA9Bb1Cw— Mia Farrow (@Mia Farrow) 1645195172
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