The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach said on Friday that he was "very disturbed" by the performance on the ice of the Russian skater Kamila Valieva, entangled in a resounding doping affair and, visibly tested, unable to evolve at its usual level in the free program of the 2022 Olympics on Thursday.
Thomas Bach also indicated at a press conference in Beijing that he did not have "much confidence" in Kamila Valieva's entourage.
He particularly regretted his coldness and his attitude towards the skater after her competition.
“I was very confused yesterday when I watched on TV (the figure skating free program).
I saw a performance where we saw the pressure on his shoulders.
My career means I know what the pressure is, but this one was above what I can imagine,” he said.
“How can you be so cold with your athlete?
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“Seeing her break down on the ice, cry and try to finish her program was difficult.
In each movement, his body language, we saw the immense stress, continued the boss of the Olympic body.
She would surely have preferred to leave the ice and leave all this behind her.
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“And how she was received by those around her coming out of the ice… It was freezing, instead of trying to help and comfort her.
We felt the distance and interpreting his body language (Editor's note: from his trainer, Eteri Tutberidze) it was dismissive.
How can you be so cold with your athlete?
lamented Bach.
Kamila Valieva broke down in tears after her performance on Thursday night.
LP/Icon sport/Laurie Dieffembacq Belga / Icon Sport
"It doesn't give me confidence in his surroundings, regardless of what may have happened, or will happen in the future, how (is it possible to) treat a 15-year-old underage athlete like that?
“, he concluded.
Valieva, 15, was caught up on the ice on Thursday by the case that dominates the 2022 Olympics. In the lead after the short program, she completely missed her free program with several falls and finally ranked 4th.
She left the ice in tears, her coach scolding her for her performance.
Provisionally suspended after positive doping test
She had been provisionally suspended on February 8 by the Russian anti-doping agency for a positive anti-doping test for trimetazidine, the result of which fell the day after her victory in the Olympic team event with Russia.
This product, used to relieve angina pectoris, has been banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency since 2014 because it promotes blood circulation.
If this control was carried out on the sidelines of the Russian championships at the end of December, the Valieva affair splashes the 2022 Olympics. The day after the notification of its positive control, Valieva had obtained the lifting of its suspension, a decision confirmed by the Arbitral Tribunal of sport (TAS) just 24 hours before his short program.