Peking – Sadness and defiance were mixed in the gesture, which is no longer part of Kamila Valiyeva’s freestyle. She waved it off as if to say: There you have it. What is all this crap about? Then she hid her made-up child’s face behind her red gloves. Katarina Witt felt deeply affected in the ARD studio. She cried. Because the Russian, who was sent onto the ice under suspicion of doping and celebrated by all experts as the runner of the century, finished fourth without a medal after a faulty freestyle at the Olympic Games in Beijing.
The sounds of Maurice Ravel’s Bolero didn’t reach the 15-year-old on Thursday, her soul wasn’t ready for music, her body wasn’t ready for top performance, the superhuman pressure was too great. “They were thrown to the world to eat,” said two-time Olympic champion Katarina Witt: “I can only hope that she will get over it and come back. I want to see her again in four years.”
No consolation for Valiyeva from coach Tutberidze
The gold medal, which will now be awarded in Beijing after all, went to Valiyeva’s training partner Anna Shcherbakowa, behind her the Russian Alexandra Trussova and the Japanese Kaori Sakamoto won the silver and bronze medals. The surprise Olympic champion felt very sorry for her teammate. “It was obvious from the first moment that the freestyle was not going well. I know what that means for an athlete at this moment,” said last year’s world champion.
Almost everything went wrong during Valieva’s lecture on the ice, she landed her buttocks on the ice several times. An overall artistic impression was out of the question. The circumstances of the past few days had taken away the magic of the ice princess. However, consolation from their controversial coach Efteri Tutberidze was hardly to be seen. Instead of hugging the disappointed girl after the freestyle and lifting her up again, Tutberidze remained distant. She said, “Why did you give everything away like that? Why did you stop fighting? Explain that to me! After the Axel you gave it out of your hands.”
After the grading, Valiewa just wanted to get out of the Capital Indoor Stadium. With a stony face and unspeakably empty eyes, the child, who had not been protected, passed the mixed zone without a word. It looked like a walk to the scaffold.
In the shadow of the absolute world class, Nicole Schott sorted herself into 17th place. Still classified 14th after the short program, the six-time German champion from Essen was thrown back by a fall during a triple flip and an accidental triple Salchow.
Team doctor Schwezki falls into the twilight
In the Valiyeva case, Witold Banka, President of the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada), even advocated prison sentences for people who administer doping substances to children. “It’s evil and unforgivable. In some countries this is already punishable and a tough but very good solution, ”said the Pole in the Eurosport interview.
Meanwhile, the Russian team doctor Filipp Schwezki is getting more and more confused. As the head of a cardiology department at a Moscow hospital confirmed to the Russian website Dossier Center, neither the banned doping agent trimetazidine nor the permitted substance hypoxene have a performance-enhancing effect.
Proposed by doping expert Thevis
However, since both drugs could be easily detected, the doctor continued, the medical care given to the Russian figure skaters had to be classified as incompetent. Dossier Center is an investigative website of an exiled Russian businessman blocked in Russia.
The Cologne doping expert Mario Thevis brought a special examination method into play. “With a hair analysis, one can possibly distinguish whether it was a matter of repeated intake in larger quantities or an accidental, one-time gift,” said Thevis in the ARD interview.
The Olympic figure skating competitions will continue on Friday (11:30 a.m. CET) with the pairs short program.