Not all glitz and glamour
Ava Bourdeau, Opinion Editor
The Olympics: an international display of excellence. Athletes dedicate every fiber of their being in order to even qualify. When it comes to the winter competitions, ice skating is one of the most popular sports among viewers across all corners of the world. The sparkles, the jumps and especially the ease at which each number is performed makes watching it an almost transcendent experience.
However, ice skating is anything but easy. The extreme conditions athletes force their bodies through puts several other winter sports to shame. Hiding their exhaustion under layers of smiles and glitter only adds to the difficulties; skaters must not only be athletes, but performers. The stress put on skaters’ bodies is perpetuated on the Russian team, where Coach Eteri Tutberdze pushes her students to their breaking points. Each Winter Olympics it is the showdown of the Russians, as her students (many as young as 15) are pitted against one another in a career-altering two minute routine. But, this mental and physical pressure has driven nearly all of Tutberdze’s students to an early retirement.
Already heavily criticized in the skating world for the treatment of her students, Tutberdze has found herself under more fire. Kamila Valieva, a student of Tutberdze’s and a favorite for the gold medal, was found to be positive for a banned substance this past December, thus breaking anti-doping rules. This would seem like a very cut and dry situation, if not for Valieva’s age. The Russian skater is only 15, a year below the minimum age to be held responsible for doping violations.
The claims are currently being dismissed by the Russian team, who believe Valieva was simply exposed to her grandfather’s heart medication by mistake. This does not change the fact that Valieva competed with a performance-enhancing drug in her system, and it was ruled by the International Olympics Committee (IOC) that any medals she receives will be withheld until the conclusion of the case. However, due to her status as a protected person (minor), Valieva is still allowed to compete, and has already qualified to compete in the upcoming women’s free skate.
This scandal brings up a much larger issue in Russian athletics. Russian athletes all too often train to the breaking point, favoring short term success over a sustainable career. The 2015 skating champion, Alina Zagitova, supposedly barely ate anything leading up to the event, and has failed to see any real success since her Olympic triumph. In 2014, then 15 year-old Yulia Lipnitskaia swept the floor with her competition, only to end up in a ward for anorexia after the competition. Both young women were students of Tutberidze, and both are functionally retired from skating. Russian skaters are seen as being in infinite supply, with a new young star wowing audiences every Olympics, only to disappear after winning the gold. This makes Valieva’s case difficult, as knowing what we know about Russian skating, it would be wrong to accuse the young athlete of acting alone. Banning her from competing would also be career-ending, as she is likely to be overtaken by a younger skater next Olympics.
Valieva’s doping case has started a conversation we should have had long ago surrounding the treatment of young athletes. Is it really worth breaking an adolescent’s body and mind, even if it puts their name on the map? It is all we can hope that this controversy exposes the dangerous reality of Russian figure skating, and encourages further investigation into the treatment of athletes as a whole.
Kamila Valieva competes at the Junior Grand Prix final in 2019.