Heartbreak and Concern for Kamila Valieva Overshadow Figure Skating Competition

[Jilly_in_VA]

There will be a medal ceremony. But nobody imagined it would happen like this.

In a shocking turn of events at the women's free skate Thursday, Kamila Valieva, the Russian national champion and the overwhelming favorite coming into the Beijing Olympics, faltered in the worst performance of her elite career.

Reeling from days of media scrutiny after her positive doping test became public, Valieva fell multiple times during her free skate and walked off the ice in tears, finishing fourth. She was heartbroken; compatriots Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova, who came in first and second, respectively, were stunned. Trusova sobbed, her makeup running down her face.

Japan's Kaori Sakamoto, sixth at the most recent world championships, won the bronze with an incredible performance. Her tears were joyful.

But their victories are sadly overshadowed by the week's events and the toll they have taken on one young athlete. After it was revealed last week that Valieva had tested positive for a banned heart medication and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that she could still compete at these Olympics, the spotlight on her shone brighter than it ever should have.

The situation, likely the result of child neglect and an institutional failure to wrangle Russia's doping problem, tainted the free skate competition—how could the other figure skaters compete knowing their biggest competition had potentially cheated? Thursday's result, though, highlighted the fact that no one is more damaged by this than one 15-year-old girl.

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