Russian Figure Skating Drama At The Olympics, Explained

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Tears, smiles, and temper tantrums: The 2022 Winter Olympics have seen it all — mainly during the women’s figure skating competition, where a doping controversy involving a teen Russian skater led to one of the most dramatic and, as one columnist put it, saddest nights in the history of the sporting event on Thursday. But what led to this?

We’ve answered all your burning questions about this on-the-ice and off-the-ice drama.

First question: What is going on?

Let’s start with Kamila Valieva testing positive for a banned heart medication called trimetazidine, which may help with endurance. However, the 15-year-old was still allowed to compete because according to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, banning her would cause “irreparable harm” because she’s a minor. This, of course, brought up questions of fairness, considering Sha’Carri Richardson, who is Black, was banned from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, after testing positive for cannabis. But it also raised concerns over how the young skater was given the medication and what the adults in her life were doing to protect her.

The controversy sparked backlash against Russia, which was already on thin ice after being banned from the 2018 Olympics over a doping scheme.

“This appears to be another chapter in the systemic and pervasive disregard for clean sport by Russia,” Sarah Hirshland, CEO of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, said in a statement responding to Valieva’s doping test result.

So if Valieva was allowed to compete, how did she do?

Not great, which was a relief for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) who said it would hold off on a medal ceremony if Valieva got gold, silver, or bronze. In a huge upset, Valieva, who was the favorite to win the gold, ended up in fourth place after falling several times during her free skate.

Source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/paigeskinner/russian-figure-skating-drama-olympics

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