Russian teenager Kamila Valieva dominated the Olympic ice on Tuesday night, fighting back tears as she completed a skate that put her at the top of the short programme standings with a doping cloud hanging over her.
Photo: AFP
The 15-year-old has been engulfed by a doping scandal in Beijing, but was cheered by spectators as she took to the ice for first time since news of her failed drugs test.
For two minutes and 40 seconds, millions around the world watched her every move, her music, In Memoriam by Kirill Richter, almost drowned out by the clicking of cameras.
Valieva tested positive for a banned heart drug after the national championships on Dec. 25, but the result was not revealed until Feb. 8, after she and her Russian Olympic Committee team mates had competed in the team competition in Beijing.
After dazzling the fans with a near-perfect free skate on Feb. 7, Tuesday's routine got off to a less than perfect start.
Valieva had been expected to execute three high-flying triple jumps. But in front of her coach Eteri Tutberidze and doctor Filipp Shvetsky, also now in the harsh spotlight, she stumbled on the opening triple Axel - having fallen twice as she attempted that jump during afternoon practice.
Alina Zagitova and Evgenia Medvedeva, gold and silver medallists at the previous Winter Games in Pyeongchang who were also trained by the formidable Tutberidze, were also watching from the stands at the Capital Indoor Stadium.
Valieva, wearing a flowing crystal-encrusted purple dress, completed her triple Lutz-triple toeloop combination, but her score of 82.16 way was below the 90.18 score she got at the team event.
RUSSIAN SWEEP HOPES
Such is her dominance, however, that it was still enough to put her ahead of fellow Russian Anna Shcherbakova, the world champion, on 80.20, and third-placed Kaori Sakamoto of Japan with a score of 79.84.
Alexandra Trusova, also representing the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), was fourth earning a score of 74.60, leaving the 'Quad Squad' with hopes of a medals sweep by the Russians, the first in women's figure skating history at the Olympics.
It would also be Tutberidze's personal hat trick as she also trains the 17-year-olds Shcherbakova and Trusova.
Valieva did not attend the post-event news conference while Shcherbakova declined to comment on her team mate's situation.
The leading skaters progress to the free skate on Thursday, where no medals will be awarded if Valieva, whose positive drug test has cast a shadow over the entire Beijing Games, finishes in the top three.
"I feel sorry for anyone who gets on the podium. They won't get that experience, and it is such a big part of the Olympic Games - to get the medals," said British skater Natasha McKay.
"I can only speak for myself and that I advocate for clean sporting,Gǥ said U.S. skater Mariah Bell.
"That's the whole idea of the Olympics and our careers, in general."
Valieva was cleared to compete by sport's highest court, but will not face a hearing for her doping charge until well after the end of the Games. Olympic officials cannot award the medals until the doping case is resolved.
Her defence argued in the Court of Arbitration for Sport that her positive test was caused by a mix-up with her grandfather's heart medication, an IOC official said.
The banned drug is meant to treat chest pain but can add to an athlete's endurance.
Reuters
In other Olympic news
* Norway roared back to pull off a stunning win in the men's 4x7.5km biathlon relay at the Beijing Olympics yesterday following a sensational collapse on the final shoot by Eduard Latypov of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC).
The middle two legs of the race looked like a victory parade for the ROC team, but a disastrous series of misses by Latypov destroyed their chances of gold, allowing Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen to swoop in and claim the win for Norway.
He crossed the line 27.4 seconds ahead of Quentin Fillon Maillet of France, with Latypov coming home 17.9 seconds further back for a disappointing bronze medal finish.
Freezing temperatures of minus 15 Celsius prompted organisers to start the race 2-1/2 hours earlier than planned, and the competition began in blazing afternoon sunshine with blustery winds increasing the chill in the air.
* The organisers of the Paris 2024 Olympics said they want to make sure the doping case of Russian teenage figure skater Kamila Valieva, which has rocked the Beijing Olympics, does not cast a shadow on their own Summer Games.
"Paris 2024 is 100% committed to the fight against doping and is working in close coordination with all stakeholders to ensure the fairness of the competitions in 2024 and the protection of athletes," they said.
"We must use this situation (the Valieva case) to make sure that it does not happen again.
"Our top priority will be the development and execution of an effective anti-doping program that protects the rights of athletes and the integrity of competitions."
* Norway beat the Russian Olympic Committee in the men's speed skating team pursuit final at the Beijing Olympics on Tuesday, becoming the first country to win two gold medals in the event.
The defending champions whizzed around the National Speed Skating Oval in perfect unison, steadily widening the gap on the Russian team to finish in three minutes and 38.08 seconds.
Norway counts men's 5,000m bronze medallist Hallgeir Engebraaten, as well as a member of previous winning team Sverre Lunde Pedersen in their ranks.
They roared with delight and thumped one another on the backs when they looked up after crossing the finish line and saw that they had achieved a feat no team had managed before.
* Canada won gold in the women's speed skating team pursuit, taking advantage of a mishap by the Japanese defending champions at the Beijing Olympics on Tuesday.
Japan started strong and kept a steady half-second lead ahead of their Canadian rivals. But a slip by Nana Takagi, who was third in the train as they coasted toward a gold medal with the finish line in sight, cost them their title at the National Speed Skating Oval.
She lost her balance as the team sped around the last corner and banged into the trackside wall.
* China's Su Yiming gave himself an early 18th birthday present by grabbing gold in the men's snowboarding Big Air event at the Beijing Olympics yesterday.
Su, who also won silver in the slopestyle event, delivered a stellar performance in front of the largest crowd at the Shougang venue since the Beijing Games started, with his first two runs giving him a combined 182.50.
Norway's Mons Roisland took silver with 171.75 while Canadian Max Parrot finished with the bronze in 170.25.
* Switzerland's Corinne Suter powered to the gold medal in a thrilling women's downhill race at the Beijing Olympics on Tuesday, pipping Italy's defending champion Sofia Goggia to the title by 0.16 seconds.
Suter, the reigning downhill world champion, powered down the piste, known as 'The Rock', in a time of 1:31.87, to knock Goggia off the top of the leaderboard and end her dream of a remarkable comeback repeat.
- Reuters