THE HEAD OF THE IOC WAS SURPRISED BY COACHES' COLD ATTITUDE TO VALIEVA

During a press conference after the competition in women's figure skating, the head of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, said that he was very surprised at the coldness with which the coaches met the figure skater Kamila Valieva.

Bach noted that after Valieva’s skating in a free program, she did not meet with the proper support from the coaches.  The head of the IOC expressed concerns about the future of the athlete because of her environment.

Anna Shcherbakova became the winner in women's figure skating.

Second place was taken by Alexandra Trusova, who set a record - she became the first figure skater in history to complete five quadruple jumps.  However, after the announcement of the results of the competition, Trusova gave way to her nerves and stated that she hated figure skating and would never go on the ice again.  The athlete expected that the most difficult free program would provide her with a gold medal.

The performance of Kamila Valieva, who received Olympic gold in team competitions and was considered the favorite in women's figure skating, surprised all the spectators.  The athlete made mistakes and fell because she could not cope with the enormous psychological pressure exerted on her at the Olympics.

We should remind our readers that Valieva was at the center of a doping scandal.

Two-time world champion and silver medalist of the 2002 Olympics figure skater Irina Slutskaya commented on Valieva's performance, emphasizing that the athlete was pursued and that the ‘provocative words were thrown at her back’. Slutskaya is sure that Kamilla Valieva was ‘broken’.

Thomas Bach also said that Valieva was met very coldly from the ice, the head of the IOC was dissatisfied with the reaction of the coaches.  Bach expressed hope that the athlete would receive support and this experience would not become dramatic for her.