In one of the biggest shocks at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, Russian Olympic Committee figure skater Kamila Valieva failed to medal in the women’s individual event. As the heavy favorite to win gold, she was in the lead after Tuesday’s short program. However, a disastrous free skate on Thursday dropped her to fourth place in the final standings.
Her Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) teammates Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova took gold and silver respectively. Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto won the bronze. American Alysa Liu finished seventh, Mariah Bell finished 10th and Karen Chen finished 16th.
Valieva’s free skate got off to a shaky start and never recovered. She stepped out on one jump, spun out on another, and fell twice. Despite this, Valieva still finished with the fifth best free skate score, although it was more than 30 points off from the gold medalist’s score.
The shocking result in the women’s individual competition caps off a turbulent Olympic Games for Valieva. Last week, she helped the ROC win gold in the team event. However, a medal ceremony was not held amid reports saying Valieva tested positive for a banned substance.
“It is not ideal that we cannot have a ceremony or give the moment for them here,” International Olympic Committee (IOC) Athletes’ Commission Chair Emma There said Thursday. While the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) allowed Valieva to compete in the individual event, the IOC had decided there would not be a medal ceremony if Valieva finished in the top three. That ceremony was set for Friday.
“”I’m happy that there will be a ceremony, that we are going to get our medals,” Trusova said. “Of course, it will be extremely pleasant for me to receive my medal.”
The issues for Valieva may not be over yet. The CAS ruling did not address the full scope of the case, leaving that to anti-doping investigators in the future.
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