Horrifying. I saw that poor Russian skater literally fall apart on the ice!

[CTyankee]

What had happened to this child to make her keep going for the entire time, fall after fall? It was excruciating for her and also for anyone watching who had an ounce of humanity about them.

The emotional and mental toll on these kids is intolerable. Nothing else to add.

[FarPoint]

1. What is the skater's name?

I have yet to watch....You must have Peacock TV?

[CTyankee]

9. Sorry, I just tried to get it again and couldn't! I'm a little verklempt right now. Maybe Facebook?

[FarPoint]

16. I went to Youtube....

story is there.....The Russians/ ROC are the guilty abusers! The Olympic Rules committee also are at fault for placing her above the rules...thus making her a target for 'social judgement"....

I ask...where have the parents of this 15 year old been?

[Thtwudbeme]

2. Who?

I have no idea what you are writing about

[Celerity]

8. Russian figure skater falls to shock 4th in women's final after Winter Olympics doping saga

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russian-figure-skater-valieva-4th-medal-doping-beijing-winter-olympics-rcna16434



Russian star Kamila Valieva burst into tears Thursday as she missed out on a medal in the women's figure skating after a performance filled with mistakes and haunted by the doping saga that has come to dominate the Winter Olympics.

The 15-year-old prodigy and gold medal favorite made several errors in her routine, momentarily hitting the ice twice as she missed out on the podium. Valieva placed fourth in the competition, which has been engulfed in the scandal surrounding her positive drug test before the Games.



The results means that a medal ceremony will take place, as she did not place in the top three. Russia's 2021 world champion Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova won gold and silver. Kaori Sakamoto of Japan captured bronze. Medals will be handed out Friday.

After Valieva walked off the ice, cameras captured several of the top competitors in tears as they processed what had happened.

snip

[BigmanPigman]

28. Here is the DU post about it in Breaking News...

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142872164

[Duncanpup]

3. Is this the kid in doping scandal

I feel for her because I’m thinking she was forced to take performance enhancing drugs.

[niyad]

40. Yes

[superpatriotman]

4. Please expand or explain

No one knows what or who you’re posting about

[CTyankee]

12. Celerity just posted it above.

[Emile]

5. Are you talking about the one who was on dope?

[CTyankee]

19. Yes, I think she was.

[HUAJIAO]

46. It wasn't quite "she was on dope.' That is a gross mis-representation.

It is a very complicated situation and I would say none of it is her fault as a 15 year old.

[LAS14]

6. If it was just a fall, that's only a one point deficit. Falls look dramatic,

but they aren't fatal.

[CTyankee]

13. I know. But it kept on happening and I realize they have to skate to the end but it was upsetting

to watch.

[iemanja]

78. It was more than a fall

Someone can fall and still win. That was the case for the Russian male skater who won the free skate in the team competition. But Valiyeva didn't execute nearly any of her jumps well. As a result, she bled points. She still got 4th, which isn't bad, except if you're Russian. And she was expected to win gold because of her remarkable talent.

[Crunchy Frog]

7. There should be an age limit of at least 18 for entry into the Olympics.

[Maru Kitteh]

29. You're right Crunchy! There should be no minors at the Olympics.

Totalitarian countries find and “farm” these children before they have any agency whatsoever. They ruin bodies and lives. It’s detestable.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

31. The Russians will simply give her a back-dated birth certificate.

18? No problem.

[Amishman]

99. Same for China and other oppressive countries

I think the olympics just needs to be burned down and rebuilt from the ground up. Part of the new structure would be requiring certain freedoms and transparency to participate.

[Irish_Dem]

10. I could barely watch. She looked like she was skating under duress.

And all the falling and stumbling.

The Russians are doping and abusing these kids.

[iemanja]

72. It makes me wonder

if the other two Russian women were given drugs as well.

[Irish_Dem]

96. There is little doubt about that.

This coach gives all her kids drugs.

[onecaliberal]

11. It makes me mad that Russia is there at all, when they are clearly still allowing doping to happen.

Ultimately the girl is 15 and even if she knew, I doubt she could have stopped them from doing it to her. I am worried for her after all of this. So sad.

[CTyankee]

17. Also, the music (Bolero) can be upsetting. It goes on and on and on, then the climax and then

that cacophony at the end...

[elleng]

32. Remember THIS?

I missed yesterday's misery.

[niyad]

41. Thank you for this. Was probably the last olympics I ever watched.

[Tadpole Raisin]

44. One of the most elegant and impeccably interpreted programs I ever saw.

I still have it on VHS… somewhere.

I remember reading that their program was actually over the allowed limit but because they started in a kneeling position the time did not begin until the skate blade first touched the ice. Brilliant!

Thanks for showing it.

I do feel bad for that young skater. She’ll recover and get better but the pressure on them at that age….

[Ilsa]

76. I remember watching that live, and thought it

was the best performance I'd ever seen, or would ever see. I haven't seen anything to compare.

[ShazzieB]

50. Thanks so much for posting this!

I'd almost forgotten how absolutely magnificent Torvill and Dean were!

I see what you mean about the music, too. I love Bolero, but it does have an unsettling quality. Yikes.

[onecaliberal]

57. I didn't watch any of it.

[USALiberal]

98. But you decided you needed to post???? Nt

[iemanja]

70. It seemed suited to her falling apart. nt

[KPN]

43. I'm worried for her too. Imagine the toll this must take on a mere

15 year old. I fear it will affect her life in a tragic way going forward, but hopefully she proves me wrong. She is a remarkable skater. It is so wrong she was put in this position by her handlers.

[Hekate]

14. I'm so sorry. I saw something to that effect earlier in the day in a post here. Valieva's career ...

… is over and the greedy corrupt adults are to blame.

My previous OP
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100216355388

Link to article inside
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/winter-olympics/could-doping-spell-the-end-for-russian-skating-prodigy-kamila-valieva/ar-AATFGzN?ocid=entnewsntp

[Tom Rinaldo]

33. Maybe, but I hope not.

I very much doubt that she'll be banned for life due to the doping offense, and she is young enough that she can mount a comeback in a year or two, if she has the inner strength needed to emotionally recover from all of this. In four years she'll still only be 19. Hopefully with a couple of years to heal and to also gain maturity, she can start working her way back to the top and be in form for the next Olympics.

[Ocelot II]

15. Her coach should be banned forever.

She takes these kids and drives them so hard that by the time they're 17 or 18 they have too many injuries to keep skating competitively. She uses them up until they can't skate any more and then just recruits new ones. I feel really sorry for Valieva and all the other kids that particular coach and the Russian system in general have abused.

[crickets]

21. This. It's abuse and a crime. nt

[smirkymonkey]

25. +1000

I honestly feel sorry for the poor girl. She has suffered enough and has taken all the blame for the doping scandal as well when it was likely not her idea or fault.

[HUAJIAO]

54. Thank you for your sensitivity to her and your accuracy in your statement.

I cannot believe some of the horrid, ignorant, know-nothing comments in this thread.

[smirkymonkey]

100. You're welcome.

I wish more people would realize that she is only a child and much of what she is going through is likely forced upon her.

Thank you as well!

[Sogo]

58. This is the thing.

The woman coach is a monster. I saw an article today with pictures and a description of her yelling at the girl as she was coming off her performance. I'm sure the coach's own status and financial well-being are all she is concerned about. The skater is just a stepping stone....

[iemanja]

71. As soon as Valiyeva got off the ice

the coach berated her for doing badly. Russians are something else.

[Poiuyt]

18. She shouldn't have been skating in this event after she failed the earlier drug test

It was unfair to the other skaters that she was allowed to continue after that.

[Effete Snob]

20. All of her limbs and digits remained attached

...and none of her internal organs came out.

I'm thinking that she only figuratively fell apart, since she is a figurative skater.

[CTyankee]

24. But psychologically she was falling apart before our eyes. Yes, skaters take falls all the time but

this was different.

[Hortensis]

30. Oh, okay! So she is still a lovely little figurative skater and I don't

have to hide from "Film at 11"? Thank you, and thank goodness.

Poor little thing, but she'll live to skate again.

[Effete Snob]

36. When I saw the subject line, I went to pieces

[Hortensis]

45. :) And I broke up in horror but got myself together again.

And she will too.

[MichMan]

22. Possible she fell (or was told to fall) on purpose to avoid the controversy ?

[Ocelot II]

27. Her evil, witchy coach berated her afterwards, so probably not.

[HUAJIAO]

51. Oh please stop. That's ridiculous and extremely unfair to her. She was under terrible media pressure

,abuse by her coach and the ROC and the way it was handled by the IOC.

[MichMan]

64. What would have been unfair would be cheating the others out of a podium had she won a medal

[LisaL]

73. So WTF would you think someone could skate well knowing that if she won,

the medal ceremony won't even take place? Not many people could handle that type of pressure. I don't think she did anything on purpose in order not to win.

[MichMan]

84. Just pointing out the unfairness of no one getting to enjoy podium even if she had won the bronze

What if she still would have won the bronze for instance. ?

As long as she was one of the medal winners, there would have been no podium moment allowed for those who might have won gold and silver. Regardless of her status, the others would have a lifetime memory taken away from them due to some bizarre twisted ruling by the IOC that they had nothing to do with.

I just wondered if it was possible, not saying it happened.

[iemanja]

69. I don't think so

Her tests are still going to come back regardless.

[betsuni]

97. I finally saw the footage and agree. On purpose.

[LonePirate]

23. Maybe there should be an age minimum in order to compete at the Olympics.

[Shanti Shanti Shanti]

34. China14 y/o diver had 3 perfect 10's diving platform in Tokyo Olympics, Tara Lipinski won gold at 15

Leave it alone, they are fully capable of being at peak performance at a young age

[niyad]

42. People are neither physically, emotionally, or mentally fully developed in their

teens.

[Crunchy Frog]

80. That's not the issue. It's the physical and psychological toll,

Plus the fact that they're essentially robbed of their childhoods.

[Shanti Shanti Shanti]

85. lol, they are Olympic athletes, it's their lives, you can't stop them, even the young are ferocious

[Crunchy Frog]

86. Whatever.

[superpatriotman]

26. Video with no narration:

https://www.reddit.com/r/olympics/comments/suvm69/absolute_meltdown_at_womens_free_skate/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

[Thomas Hurt]

35. I would think that after the controversy, the allegations, the hub bub, she was....

embarrassed and under yet more pressure than the usual Olympic performance. Looks like she was not able to cope with that and could not keep her composure during her routine.

[zuul]

37. And all of these girls, even the 3 who won medals

we’re bawling once the competition was over. This was a traumatizing event for all of them. Shame on the adults, both with the Olympics and the Russian Olympic Cheaters, for pulling this shit.

[Sogo]

59. I totally agree with your points.

[USALiberal]

38. Link to Video??

[Celerity]

52. here

at the bottom

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100216366713#post8

[Hassler]

39. Responsibility for what happened falls on Olympic committee for

Letting her skate following her drug failure and ultimately on Vlad's Russia.

[Fiendish Thingy]

47. The coach is an abusive exploiter of all the young girls on the team.

Forced liquid diets, requiring quad jumps that most men skaters can’t attempt. Her teens often have to retire before they are adults with significant injuries.

In a just world she would be banned from coaching.

[Meowmee]

53. Horrible

One of my students said she had severe joint damage / early arthritis as a teenager from figure skating. I saw her a few years later walking with a walker, she was in her 20s then.

[Meowmee]

48. I found it on youtube

It looked like she only fell once, maybe this was not the actual competition. I remember an olympics where numerous people were falling and they still did well, lol. After that that was par for the course. I think as long as they get up and keep going that is what seems to matter most now on some level anyway.

[HUAJIAO]

56. That was it and she missed most of the jumps,

plus her skating was nothing to write home about, nothing like she can do.

Watch this. from December- just unbelievable. Nobody has ever skated like this..

[Meowmee]

60. I watched all of it and only saw her fall once though... will watch this

[HUAJIAO]

62. Perhaps true but she stumbled badly several times and had real trouble landing the jumps.

She really is a phenom...

[Meowmee]

63. Yes she is great

I watched the video you posted. I have not been watching the olympics at all but for some reason my brother had it on so we saw the whole thing and she did fall or nearly slip a few times etc and was not doing well. So sad the whole thing. I still think she is lucky she had no terrible effects from the drugs etc. ultimately. The whole Olympics system is so corrupt. I am amazed they can get up and keep skating after falling.

[Straw Man]

88. Two total falls ...

... plus two stumbles where she barely stayed on her feet during the landing. Then there were numerous awkward and sloppy landings. She pretty much just fell apart.

The silver lining is that the Japanese skater was able to enjoy her attainment of the bronze medal rather than having it awarded to her weeks later after the whole doping fiasco gets adjudicated, which is what could have happened if Valieva had made it to the podium.

[Meowmee]

91. Yes we saw the actual whole performance and noticed that

Do you know what the song was that Kaori S used for her performance music? I can’t find it anywhere.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

102. Someone posted it in Music Appreciation.

Just a sec ...

Thu Feb 17, 2022, 10:36 PM: Now We Are Free - Lisa Gerrard // Japanese figure skater, Kaori Sakamoto, used this song today

[Meowmee]

106. Thanks 😀

I know that song though and that is not the song playing when I saw her last night- I am sure of it, very odd.

[Tarc]

49. Lol, who, the dopehead?

Good. Never should've been let back into the Olympics to begin with.

Karma.

[HUAJIAO]

55. She is not a dope head.

[Meowmee]

61. Agree

Someone gave her those drugs under pressure I am sure. She is lucky she survived them.

[iemanja]

79. She tested positive for a banned substance

a heart medication that increases endurance. The term "dope head" is severe, but it is a fact that she tested positive.

[ShazzieB]

74. That was incredibly unkind, unfair, and not one bit funny.

[brooklynite]

75. The Olympics isn't a place for participation trophies...

Either you're prepared for the pressure and stress, or you shouldn't be competing.

[LisaL]

77. There is your normal Olympic stress, and there is the stress this girl must have been under.

NT

[Tarc]

104. Cope

[rockfordfile]

93. I agree

Russia should be banned from the Olympics. This shows they will keep doing it until there's a real penalty.

[mnhtnbb]

65. Would that Karma would catch up

with the seditious orange Russkiy loving sack of $hit the way it caught up with the skater who never should have been allowed on the ice after testing positive for a banned substance.

[Takket]

66. Former Olympian Katarina Witt on this debacle

Link to tweet

?s=21

[rockfordfile]

94. She got caught drugging up. The other skaters didn't do that.

It's all of their faults, Russia, coaches and skater. 15? I went through and been through a lot younger than that.

Again other skaters were better than her and didn't dope up. I wouldn't be surprised to find out other Russian athletes were doped up. They just didn't detect it.

[iemanja]

68. And the Gold medal winner being completely ignored

It was all so bizarre.

[herding cats]

81. She'd just won an Olympic gold medal and she was alone clutching a stuffed toy.

She stood and then sat alone and away from all the mayhem taking place while clutching her Olympic provided stuffed animal. It was as if she were completely a side thought when someone finally recalled and summoned her. She looked so very confused, lost and alone.

None of the Russian team had a good night, even with the two of them winning a gold and silver. I've never seen such ranges of emotions in one event from the winners before. The alone and seemingly forgotten gold medalist, the sad and angry silver medalist that she didn't win gold on her technical merit, and the ecstatic bronze medalist to have her chance to medal.

Then there was Valieva's complete breakdown for the world to witness. She shouldn't have been there, that's very true, but she was and she'll forever remember how it felt to be her tonight. People should be held responsible for her suffering. The adults in her world deeply failed her as a person. She was just an object to exploit to their gains.

[LisaL]

82. Both of her teammates were having meltdowns, even if for different reasons.

She was calm so attention wasn't on her at that particular time.

[herding cats]

83. I believe I mentioned the drama from both her teammates as well?

Strange how there wasn't one single person left to send to her side.

[iemanja]

87. I agree with your assessment

It was heartbreaking.

[milestogo]

89. She performed that same routine perfectly for the team competition

She is absolutely amazing, both technically and artistically. I don't think her excellent performance was due to drugs. She must have taken them, but the drugs aren't what made her great.

I don't believe she got detectable drugs by drinking grandpa's water. The coaches wanted to ensure the gold medal, so they made her take the drugs, possibly by tricking her.

She should defect to the US while she has the chance.

[Meowmee]

92. Yes defecting would be a good idea

People take this stuff way too seriously imo. There is so much corruption in all of it. Drugging and starving children to perform better supposedly, it has been going on for a long time, horrible. She is very talented, she can make a come back if she wants to.

[rockfordfile]

95. She shouldn't have been in the Olympics after testing for that drug. You shouldn't be rewarded

[milestogo]

105. Agreed.

[Celerity]

107. No, she made an error in the team skate as well, but nothing like the collapse in the individual

the error comes at 2:50 onward, she falls on one of the quads

[EndlessWire]

90. I am not in favor of crushing little children.

But, this is the Olympics. It is the toughest venue in the world. If you choose to compete, then you have to suck up whatever happens to your performance.

This girl chose to compete, and was expected to be the winner. That's enormous pressure in and of itself. But, in addition to that, she had the doping scandal to put pressure on her.

What of this doping scandal? Russia was banned for doing that very thing. Other countries competed fairly and took their chances. Russia was allowed to compete, just not under the Russian banner. That was so it would be fair to their athletes who had nothing to do with the country's cheating.

But, still Russia cheated. And, they got caught. There is a question of the Sample A versus Sample B, but that was kinda late, so they let her compete anyway, even though the reaction to that was mixed and heavy. But, she got to compete.

And, she fell. All it takes to lose is one fall. That's in a normal Olympics. (The Olympics is just messed up this year.) But, she's 15 years old, she was off her game, and she did not peak for her best performance in these games. A professional athlete sucks that up and moves on. She'll either continue, or quit. Hopefully, she has learned about mental toughness.

But, the audience reaction is just interesting. Who said that an Olympic athlete who loses should be placated just because she had turned in such a beautiful performance before the Olympics? We don't know if she did that because she was doping, or not. Was she clean this time when she fell? Or was it truly just the mental pressure that caused her bad performance?

And, what about those that lose at the Olympics? We all feel sorry for anyone who loses an athletic contest, but this is abnormal mourning for someone who was doping but lucky to get to still compete.

Was it a false positive? I dunno, but a professional athlete (and let's not pretend that there is no money in being an Olympic gold medal winner) shows mental toughness and gives the very, very best they can do when they are asked to deliver. It's called the will to win. And, there is also just plain dumb luck. Maybe the other guy falls for whatever reason, and you come out ahead.

Who knows why she fell apart. But, I don't see any reason to wail over her because she is young and wanted to compete, and didn't win. All of the world's athletes deserve to be feted just for being Olympians, having the guts and determination to continue year after year.

You don't get a pass for doping just because you are young. Maybe she would have won if she had been allowed to dope for the final, you know? I think it's atrocious that Russia would allow or encourage doping with medicine like that. I don't care if she took it herself, or her mean coach gave it to her, or whatever happened.

The tragedy of this loss is the doping angle, not the fact that she fell. All athletes fail at some point. There are rules to follow, Russia didn't, or probably didn't (I say that because, 3 heart medicines?), and they should be banned.

I feel bad for this little girl. But, nothing is for certain in the Olympics. Stuff happens. She's still an Olympian, and she'll write a book or something about her experience. She doesn't have to hang her head.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

101. I watched it too, and it was so sad. I felt so bad for her.

The only reason I watched is that I knew what was coming. I usually go to bed before 9:00, but I stayed up late for this.

After all she's been put through, to go through an endless (okay, four-minute) public humiliation like that.

Then, when it was over, her coaches jumped on her. Russian-speaking Johnny Weir knew what they were saying.

It was so awful.

[Hav]

103. True, it was too much pressure in a no win situation

Even if she had performed to her usual level, which is without a question incredible, I assume she would have lost any medal anyways.
Besides the pressure from the public/media, I also suspect there was considerable resentment from the other figure skaters who've worked for this for their whole life as well and who also might have only this one shot.

Her coach seems truly awful and apparently has created many victims in her past with her ruthless methods. People like her should be banned from sports and they shouldn't be in a position to be responsible for minors.