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Russian figure skater Kamila Valiyev broke down in tears after her botched free skate in Beijing
Photo:
RICHARD ELLIS / imago images/UPI Photo
The two-time Olympic figure skating champion Katarina Witt criticized the way the 15-year-old was treated on ARD after Russia's Kamila Valiyeva failed in her Olympic freestyle.
“What happened now is the worst of all.
It broke her," said Witt on ARD and became emotional.
“Exactly what happened that should have been protected from.
She's 15, she's a kid.
You see her sitting there, collapsing.”
Witt fought back tears, turned away and fought for composure.
"Can you switch off first?" she asked at the beginning of the conversation, visibly upset.
"I really can't bear that."
After days of fuss about a positive doping test, Valiewa could not withstand the pressure and was unable to defend her lead from the short program in the women's singles.
She finished the competition in fourth place.
“They were thrown to the world to eat.
Everyone was watching, you have to break up," said Witt, a former world-class figure skater and two-time Olympic champion herself.
"She couldn't win"
'She was a shadow of herself when she walked out here.
She couldn't win in this whole game," Witt said of Valiyeva's appearance.
“Some mom or someone in charge should have taken her out, on the plane, home, three months away from all that hustle and bustle.
Before that tsunami even hit them that hit them.”
Witt also expressed criticism of the system in figure skating.
"I could go crazy, it's so irresponsible what has been done here," she said angrily.
“She really is a talent of the century.
I hope she gets through this and that she comes back.
I'm almost afraid that she won't make it.
It's time for this sport to consider whether there shouldn't be an age limit.« There had already been voices about a minimum age for athletes.
hba/dpa