“They are trying to erase us from world sports”: how Russia reacted to Valieva’s four-year disqualification

The decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport to disqualify Kamila Valieva for four years caused a shock in the world of domestic figure skating. The girl herself did not comment on what happened, but she posted a telling post on social networks. She published a short video from her own performance set to the sad composition “Heart” by Passmurny. It contains the eloquent words: “Drown my pain. And choose my heart. The sun will burn out. The thoughts are gone."

At a difficult moment, Evgenia Medvedeva supported her friend. She responded to the removal of her compatriot with a large message on her Telegram channel. In particular, the two-time world champion recalled how she returned with Valieva to Moscow after the Olympic Games in Beijing.

“She was worried and at the same time indignant, not understanding what was happening. This is not how an athlete who has purposefully doped behaves. He will be angry that everything has come to light, he will look for those to blame, but Kamila simply did not understand. Imagine that you have been striving for Olympic gold all your life, and then you come to it as a favorite. You are ready to win. And they tell you: “Well, you can perform, but we will most likely deprive you of your medals later.” And you are 15 years old,” Medvedeva wrote.

She also asked a number of questions about this story. The figure skater was outraged that the positive test became known only during the 2022 Olympics, although Valieva passed it in December 2021. It was also surprising why the consideration of the case took almost two years, and how harsh the final verdict was. In conclusion, Medvedeva wished her colleague to smile more.

“I can say with confidence that Camila knew nothing about any trimetazidine. And I am very sorry that an athlete who has not made any mistakes is being deliberately deprived of medals. I could give dozens of examples when foreign athletes were justified in similar situations, but I won’t. I’ll save the strength to hug Kamila tightly when I see you,” Medvedeva added.

Honored Coach of the USSR Tatyana Tarasova, who did not hide her indignation, spoke out harshest of all.

“I’m just in shock, I didn’t expect this. Scoundrels. This is complete chaos. I wish their children would meet people like them,” the specialist snapped in a conversation with RT.

The key point is how the athlete herself will go through this test. Most experts are confident that the skater will not only cope, but will become stronger. For example, Olympic champion Roman Kostomarov believes that after everything that happened to Valieva at the Games in Beijing, it is impossible to break her.

“I don’t know why they gave me such a long sentence. We didn't make the decision. As for medals, we really don’t have any, so they won’t take anything away. I’m sure they simply won’t give them,” Kostomarov complained.

And his former partner Tatyana Navka called the CAS verdict “monstrously unfair and polarized.” In her opinion, domestic sports officials are obliged to challenge it in a higher authority. She wished the girl herself not to stop and expressed confidence that not only fans, but also her family and Eteri Tutberidze would support her.

“Our figure skater will still have the opportunity to compete at the Olympics in 2026. If, of course, all Russians have such a chance... She is only 17 years old, and life is just beginning. I wish Camila strength, self-confidence and spirit to overcome this incredibly difficult path. Valieva must find courage within herself, and we, the Navka Team, are waiting for her at our place, we have a huge number of performances. The whole country loves and will love our Kamila,” Sport24 quotes Navka.

However, some were not surprised by the athlete’s long suspension. Three-time Olympic champion Irina Rodnina admitted that she did not expect anything different.

“Will Camila be able to come back? Question for her. Any athlete who wants to prove his point will probably strive to do so. Is it a fair decision? I don’t know what arguments the judges had, I only know, like everyone else, that she was found to have a prohibited drug. What form of punishment is also known to everyone. Every athlete, coach and doctor realizes: there are things that cannot be done in sports,” Sport-Express quotes Rodnina as saying.

Honored Trainer of Russia Alexander Zhulin also agreed with her. In his opinion, now we should not expect a positive outcome of the proceedings when it comes to domestic athletes.

“I think this will hit Valieva hard. But she can skate in shows or show some other qualities. Kamila is a very talented person. It’s a shame that they ruined the career of the most talented figure skater of all time,” the specialist complained.

In turn, another famous mentor, Inna Goncharenko, wished the athlete not to give up and try to survive the unpleasant situation, no matter how difficult it may be.

“She will have to wait almost two more years. It will be very difficult. But everything depends on her. Will Camila want to continue fighting and competing? Those who are nearby will certainly support her, and this can become motivation for her. For us, she is a champion and leader who showed her style and style,” explained the coach.

And Renat Laishev, the former head of the Moscow Center for Sports and Education “Sambo-70”, where the figure skater studied, expressed hope that fans will still see her on the ice. Moreover, the functionary is confident that in the eyes of her compatriots Valieva will remain the owner of the Olympic award of the highest standard.

A similar idea was expressed by bronze medalist of the 2016 World Cup Anna Pogorilaya.

“I feel sorry for her as an athlete. I understand very well how much time and effort Tutberidze’s team spent. Plus, we're talking about team gold. But, I think, in Russia everything will remain the same - everyone will continue to believe that these are our medals by right,” the “Championship” quotes her.

However, there were also people who called for a sober approach to Valieva’s disqualification. According to commentator Dmitry Guberniev, in the current situation it was difficult to expect a different situation, given the lack of normal relations with international federations.

“About public flogging, you need to ask the people who made this decision. They did not listen to our arguments. Maybe we weren't good enough at presenting evidence of Camila's innocence. But be that as it may, now we are talking about the fact that they are trying to erase us from world sports, erase us. Therefore, the task is not to scream at all corners about how we are being insulted, but to develop sports within the country, help children and athletes, and work,” he said in a conversation with RT.

And RT columnist Elena Vaitsekhovskaya called for attention to the other side of the issue - who allowed an athlete with a positive doping test to travel to the Olympic Games.

“In fact, this whole story is a story about the substitution of concepts. In all honesty, we, of course, speculated on the theme of a small innocent child against whom the world had turned against. The plot is much more tragic. It’s about how someone’s completely unforgivable negligence deprived people of Olympic gold in whose career the 2022 Games were either the last, like Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov, or the only ones, like everyone else,” noted the Olympic champion.

“I’m not talking about the notorious trimetazidine from my grandfather’s glass. And about something that still haunts me personally to this day. How could it even happen that an athlete with a “dirty” doping test ended up at the Games? And this is a question not for CAS, not for Western provocateurs from the Swedish laboratory, but for those people who continue to manage domestic sports and figure skating in particular. Who gave them the right to so mediocrely dispose of the destinies of people who have been the pride of the country for many years? And is their guilt in the context of what happened less significant than the guilt of Kamila, who received a four-year disqualification period? - Vaitsekhovskaya emphasized.

In addition, she believes that the girl’s possible admission to domestic tournaments, despite the suspension, will only distance the country from returning to international competitions.

“In Russia, I believe, a traditional bacchanalia will now begin in the style of not recognizing the decision, inviting Kamila wherever possible and not, reasoning that “we still know who the real champion is here,” and so on. And this, it seems to me, can already become a small but really serious detail that can play a negative role in the process of returning to international sports. Exactly according to the principle “Do you consider yourself Olympic champions in the country? This is the territory where you compete.” It’s desperately painful to resign yourself, but you also have to be able to lose,” Vaitsekhovskaya added.