Would Valieva be abandoned after the Olympics?

Kamila Valieva who tested positive for doping has swallowed the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Valieva who decided to compete in women’s figure skating singles for her first time in the Olympics despite the test result only left controversy and criticism. Would Valieva be able to return to the next Olympics and regain her honor? Unfortunately, it is likely that she will get abandoned.

Valieva is a member of the team led by coach Eteri Tutberidze. Tutberidze is attending the Olympics with three figure skaters, including Valieva, Anna Shcherbakova, and Alexandra Trusova. Tutberidze has been dominating women’s figure skating as a coach since 2014. What draws attention is that figure skaters who shared glory with her either retired or left the coach soon after.

Yulia Lipnitskaya who won a gold medal for team figure skating in the 2014 Sochi Olympics suffered from anorexia and retired three years later. Alina Zagitova and Evgenia Medvedeva who won a gold and a silver, respectively, in the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics had a similar fate. Zagitova retired a year later as she lagged behind the team’s other figure skaters. Medvedeva decided to work with Brian Orser, the former coach of Kim Yuna, saying that she wanted to work with a friend-like coach. In addition, figure skaters who moved from junior to senior and showed good performance were abandoned by Tutberidze if they had injuries.

There are over 10 young prominent figure skaters who can do quadruple jumps in Russia, which means Valieva can be easily replaced. This is why many figure skating experts and coaches anticipate that she will be abandoned.


Dong-Wook Kim creating@donga.com