“In the Loop” is a column by Valerie Fang dedicated to the sport of figure skating.
“Justice” was the first word that came to mind when I saw the final ruling from the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Kamila Valieva’s doping case, which first broke out almost exactly two years ago at the Beijing Winter Olympics. The 15-year-old Russian skater tested positive for a banned heart medication weeks before the Games. Doping can never be excused or justified, and I was just glad that the other skaters who competed clean are finally getting an answer. I don’t have a problem with the verdict itself being a typical four-year ban. I don’t even have a problem with the fact that CAS treated Valieva the same as an adult athlete.
No, I have a problem with why this happened in the first place. I have a problem with manipulating a child and then letting her alone face the consequences. I have anger and sadness about some of the most toxic issues within figure skating (many outside of the skaters’ control) that do not seem to lead to any change but this broken article.
How lamentable to see someone who was born to skate now being rejected by the ice where she used to make life happen. Don’t be fooled when they say the ban will stop right before Milan 2026. All of the girls who train under Eteri Tutberidze have the infamous “Eteri Expiration Date,” which happens roughly when they hit 17. It means that Valieva might not even be physically competent to fight for a spot on the podium, even with both the CAS ban on her and the IOC ban on Russian athletes out of the way. Since she is barred from both public and private ice, Valieva is watching her prime slip away. The closest she can get to the ice is behind those hockey boards. There is no crueler fate for a figure skater.
Flashing back to the team event in Beijing where Valieva helped Russia soar to gold and took my breath away with her In Memoriam, Valieva’s elegant dancing figure was like a delicate butterfly bracing the ice. Her lyrical and ballet-esque movements presented a mesmerizing balance between fragility and resilience. The program showcased the sophistication of her skating and jumping skills and an astonishing level of musicality. How mature she was in mastering her music and emotional expressions was almost surprising for her age.
My favorite characterization of the young girl is from The New York Times, which called her a “supernova.” It was true, at least for a while. She was an exploding star who landed on the scene with magnificent light and a gravitational force, pulling your attention in and not allowing you to look away.
Exactly two years later, today, I can still see her as a butterfly, but this time being helplessly mired in the storm of politics, toxic coach-student dynamics, international power struggles and, frankly, endless troubles over which she has no control. The girl was branded all over with the interests of others. Now, she is being punished for the sins of others.
The adults around her — those who should be responsible — are not being punished. In their place is Valieva, a child at her first Olympics, filled with hopes and expectations. Russia flew too close to the sun and its athlete is paying the price with potentially the rest of her competitive career. CAS, by explicitly saying that there was no reason to treat her differently from adult athletes, is likely trying to make Russia really hurt this time. But Russia is ready to give her up.
One comment under The Washington Post’s reporting says: “Can’t imagine why anyone would bother watching skating going forward.” It breaks my heart, but here lies the inconvenient truth. Where do we go from here? When are we going to see another gifted young skater from Russia starting to dominate the sport (well, at least at where they are allowed to compete)? Probably tomorrow, considering how fast Tutberidze’s inhumane training methods can churn out medal-getters. But when are we going to see an end to the exploitation of children athletes in Russia? And how dare Tutberidze question if Valieva was sufficiently represented at the hearings when she got away by hiding behind her once-promising student?
In Memoriam still haunts me. As one of the last dances Valieva performed at the Olympics, it might just well be the memoriam for herself as a competitive figure skater.
“In the Loop” runs every other Friday.