The Olympics ended on February 10th; however, figure skating is still being talked about. One of the most popular stories is about Kamila Valieva, who people had high hopes for, but was she going to win the Women’s Figure Skating Contest?
At age fifteen, Kamila Valieva is the youngest figure skater to enter the Olympics. A lot of people had high hopes for Valieva, but she was knocked down a few places when an unexpected turn of events happened.
Valieva was caught on February 11th taking drugs. Trimetazidine was found in Valieva’s system; the drug is used to help with angina and heart disease. Valieva's coach said she took it by accident in a contaminated bottle that most likely belonged to Valieva’s grandfather. The Russian figure skater was suspended for a small amount of time, but she wasn’t banned because she was protected under the World Anti-Doping Code.
Valieva is a Russian citizen. Russia has a reputation of having their competitors take drugs to increase their stamina and energy. In the 2018 Olympics a young figure skater was found using drugs to increase her stamina and was banned from the Olympics.
Russia was supposed to be banned at the Olympics, but the Russian athletes decided to not compete with Russia’s national banner and instead competed under the Olympic flag. The ban was able to be reduced to only two years of banishment. But the qualified athletes still were able to compete.
However, despite the questionable actions, Valieve is said to have once-in-a-lifetime talent and is considered to be the best figure skater to have entered the Olympics.
Valieva made history when she became the first woman to do a quad jump. The quad jump is extremely risky. It’s when a figure skater spins around for about four times. It requires precise coordination and, more importantly, balance.
Even if Valieva was able to compete she didn’t win the Women’s Figure Skating, as Valieva fell down twice when she was going to do a jump and wasn't able to win. Her final score was 224.09.
The winner was another Russian skater named Anna Shcherbakova, who had 255.95 for her final score.
Though it was hard for Valieva to be placed under all that pressure, hopefully Valieva will return to compete again in the Olympics.
Image Source: Yahoo Sports