Valieva, the IOC president: "Chilling the way she was treated by her entourage." No more 15-year-olds at the Games
A disastrous competition after the doping scandal, which ended in tears after several falls, then the coldness of his coaches. Towards a rule that raises the minimum age to compete to 17 or 18 years
The president of the International Olympic Committee (CIO), Thomas Bach, said he was "very upset" by the performance of the Russian Kamila Valieva in the free skating final, when the 15-year-old fell several times and ended a disastrous competition in tears. crushed by the pressure of the doping scandal that overwhelmed it and the conquest of gold at all costs.
"I was very upset when I saw her on TV," said Bach, who then pointed the finger at the girl's coaches, who treated her with "tremendous coldness" at the end of the test.
After the visibly upset Valieva finished her routine, her coach Eteri Tutberidze repeatedly asked her ward “Why did you let him go, why? Tell me ", ignoring his emotional state.
“It was chilling to see how she was received by the closest entourage,” Bach said at a press conference. "All of this doesn't give me much confidence in this close entourage of Kamila, neither in terms of what has happened in the past, nor in terms of the future."
"I hope he has the support of family and friends," continued Bach, reiterating that the latter had asked Wada to investigate the coaches and consultants of the very young skater.
Responding to a question from a Russian reporter about whether the IOC had any responsibility for what happened, Bach noted that “there is a positive A sample and this positive A sample needs to be addressed and we weren't ignoring it. We are following the rule of law and dealing at the same time with a minor, with a 15 year old girl who obviously has a drug that shouldn't be in her body. And those who gave her this drug in her body are guilty. "
The Valieva case has put the spotlight on Russia's participation in the Olympic Games, still putting it in the crosshairs due to the massive state-sponsored anti-doping program that reached its peak at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics: not surprisingly, Russian athletes compete in Beijing under the banner of the Russian Olympic Committee.
15-YEAR-OLD STOP TO GAMES - Meanwhile, a law is being studied to ban such young athletes from participating in the Olympic Games. The next congress of the World Federation of Ice Sports (Isu) will in fact discuss raising the age to participate in a major event, with a minimum of 17 years, to go up to 18.
"Italy supports this need together with many countries", said the president of Federghiaccio Andrea Gios, regarding the story of the 15-year-old Russian who could accelerate the reform in view of Milan-Cortina 2026. "It is not useful for our sport have 15-year-old champions who disappear the following year. The champions must remain in history, like Katarina Witt, Carolina Kostner ”, Gios observed.
(Unioneonline / L)
