The Russian women's figure skating team has bigger problems than doping
Russian dynamo Kamila Valieva, 15, made history this week by being the first female skater to land a quadruple jump in the Olympics. A few days later, her team made headlines again with reports that one of their athletes had failed a doping test, delaying the medal ceremony and leaving Olympics fans wondering.
USA Today reported that a skater on the team who is a minor and who competed in this week’s team event had tested positive for doping. Russian outlets reported that the unnamed skater who tested positive was Valieva, and that the test was taken in December but reported this week. According to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s privacy policy, minors are not subject to the same mandatory public reporting as adult athletes, which would make it hard to confirm even if these reports are accurate.
The charge is all the more loaded as technically Valieva and her teammates are not competing for Russia but on behalf of the Russian Olympic Committee; this is because in 2019 WADA banned Russia from formally competing in major sporting events for widespread, state-sponsored doping.
Early reports indicate that the banned substance was a cardiac medication called trimetazidine. Although the drug is unconfirmed, it’s worth noting that in 2016, Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova was found to be taking a banned cardiac medication that enhances endurance and recovery. The International Olympic Committee and International Skating Union, have yet to issue official statements regarding Valieva’s test, eligibility, or possible warnings or punishment.
Valieva was also the heavy favorite, along with her teammates and training partners Alexandra Trusova and Anna Shcherbakova, to sweep the podium for women’s figure skating at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. All three share a coach, and all three are considered among the best skaters in the world. Their dominance is predicated on their ability to outshine their competition by landing quads and triple axels, the most difficult jumps.
https://www.vox.com/22927130/kamila-valieva-doping-trimetazidine-ban-olympics-2022
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Please read the WHOLE article. It highlights the comments I've made previously on this subject.
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Excessive pressure to compete at a young age shortens skaters' careers, and deprives athletes of being able to mature into fully-developed artists, according to Benoit Richaud, the leading choreographer among quad-less competitors.
"Eteri was smart in her approach: she was first to find a method to teach quad jumps to girls, and the method works, but only until age 17. What are skaters supposed to do then?"
