Figure Skating: He's Here, He's Weir, Get Over It

[Ginger]

It didn't matter at the hearing yesterday, but Valieva will eventually have to testify as to how the banned substance got in her system. Her story, as presented to CAS yesterday, is that she was taking care of her grandfather, and accidentally drank from his glass.

There's a specific Japanese migraine medication which can create a false positive for TMZ. I'm surprised that the ROC does not keep all of their skaters dosed with the Japanese migraine medication to cover up the TMZ. Other Russian athletes have done it.

[lpatrice]

Jesus. That’s the dumbest thing I’ve heard. I did hear that there are a couple of medications that sometimes present as TMZ as well - I would have gone with that angle. Or and it’s possible, this could be like the one case where it was just a ridiculous series of events that led to the positive tests and Valieva isn’t doping or being doped up intentionally. 😂😂 Wouldn’t that be just the ending to this mess and give Russia all the fuel to continue to act like everyone is against them….

[OnyxRose]

I hate that people are popping off on Twitter, spouting off wrong information. The IOC is the entity that wants to ban her and CAS overturned that suspension. The IOC made this mess by not fully banning Russia back in 2014 and they’re still making a mess by not allowing a medal ceremony but they were for the ban. And I need people to understand the difference between this and Sha’Carri’s issue.

[Ginger]

Jan 28, 2005 14:59:05 GMT -4 OnyxRose said:

The IOC is the entity that wants to ban her and CAS overturned that suspension.

A number of journalists were flummoxed as to why an IOC official emailed them footage of Russia making their argument during what was supposed to be a confidential hearing. The IOC official seemed to be trying to help out Russia. And didn't bother to disguise the leak either.

I have no doubt that WADA made a forceful case against lifting the suspension. Not so sure about the IOC...

[eveschmeve]

I truly don’t understand why they would potentially ruin 24 other clean athlete’s games because of someone’s positive test. They don’t trust the results enough to put her on the podium, why would they allow her to compete? Plenty of other athletes who were later cleared were suspended and it’s terrible but it preserves the integrity of the sport. The age thing is a convenient crutch. As I saw online today- if minors cannot be held accountable then minors should not be competing.

[Ginger]

This is what the ISU said in the case of a 13-year-old junior Korean skater who left a competition early and accidentally missed a test:

The Panel is nevertheless of the view that, in order for an athlete to be bound to anti-doping rules, the issue of age is in principle of no relevance. Accordingly, the fact that the Alleged Offender was very young at the time of the anti-doping control (13 years old) is in this respect irrelevant. If a young athlete enrolls to compete in organized sport she must do it in accordance with the rules of the game, including the rules whose violation entails disciplinary consequences. This is especially appropriate in figure skating, where athletes tend to emerge onto the international scene at ever younger ages. After all, subjection to rules and to sanctions is not unknown to minors. For instance, when minors are in school, they must comply with school rules and be prepared to undergo disciplinary consequences – even harsh ones, such as the expulsion from the school or the repetition of the same school year – if they don’t. If a young athlete is deemed by his parents mature enough to participate in an international event, she must be deemed mature enough to understand the applicable anti-doping rules.

The ISU did let that skater off with a reprimand instead of a suspension.

[tanyak]

Feb 14, 2022 9:49:56 GMT -4 Ginger said:

That should settle the ongoing debate about whether or not to raise the age minimum for this sport: No senior-level international competitions until the age of 18, including qualifying competitions. The likes of Eteri Tutberidze might actually have to start coaching her pupils with a little bit of longevity in mind, instead of them all retiring at 17-18 to tend to their broken skeletons and destroyed metabolisms and endocrine systems. Every Russian female skater from the last Olympics is now a broken-down wreck in retirement/recovery. It's not good for the sport either that none of these girls are around long enough to become stars.

This. For some reason, the little girl who wore the red dress and skated to Schindler's List always sticks in my mind. I just googled her, Yulia Lipnitskaya, and she won gold in Sochi. I remember the announcers (I don't think Johnny and Tara were the A team yet) raving about her and her future, so I was really surprised not to see her four years ago. And now, as you say, the girls from four years ago aren't here now. And apparently the Russian champion from just last year didn't make the team, either? Russian gymnasts have more longevity than that!

Count me among those who now prefer ice dancing.

[Ginger]

-Yulia Lipnitskaya (2014 gold medalist) retired 3 years after Sochi, age 19, due to ongoing battle with anorexia.

-Evgenia Medvedeva (2018 silver medalist) retired 3 years after Pyeongchang, age 21, due to chronic back injury. She skated in Pyeongchang on a broken foot.

-Alina Zagitova (2018 gold medalist) retired 1 year after Pyeongchang, age 17, with a chronic hip injury and having lost the desire to compete.

-Elizabet Tursynbaeva, first woman to land a quad at Worlds in 2019, retired in 2021 at age 20 due to back injury.

-Darya Usacheva, age 15, was injured at a competition last fall and returned to Moscow in a wheelchair. Her career is over.

All of the above were coached by Eteri Tutberidze. Figure skating Coach Rafael Arutunian said she treats her skaters like they are single-use coffee pods.

[seat6]

One of them (I forget which one), can no longer turn to the left.

Evgenia Medvedeva, the 2018 silver medalist, is permanently disabled.

[lpatrice]

Feb 14, 2022 19:33:39 GMT -4 seat6 said:

One of them (I forget which one), can no longer turn to the left.

Evgenia Medvedeva, the 2018 silver medalist, is permanently disabled.

It’s Medbedeva who can no longer do jumps because she can’t rotate off the ice from the left. Side note, this shit show of an Olympic Games is just about right for the times we live in. And this what they get for having the games in China and with the ongoing COVID surge.