'Never skate again': Silver medallist's stunning tirade at Winter Olympics
All eyes might have been on Kamila Valieva during Thursday night's women’s figure skating finale, but Russian teammate Alexandra Trusova almost stole the show with a dramatic outburst after missing out on gold at the Winter Olympics.
Valieva broke down in tears in devastating scenes after falling in the women's figure skating finale and missing a medal.
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The 15-year-old - who had been embroiled in scandal after failing a doping test but being allowed to compete in Beijing - was inconsolable after crashing out of medal contention in heartbreaking fashion.
Valieva's were far from the only tears on the ice on Thursday night, however, with Trusova devastated after another Russian - Anna Shcherbakova - pipped her to gold.
A distraught Trusova clearly thought she had been robbed of gold and let her emotions pour out in a stunning outburst after the final points were announced.
“Everyone has a gold medal, everyone, but not me,” Trusova said, according to Reuters.
“I hate skating. I hate it. I hate this sport. I will never skate again. Never. It’s impossible. That’s not how it should be.”
let's make this clear
I REMEMBER Trusova saying "clear jumps are more important than medals"
BUT
she did't get ANY gold in 3 (!) seasons - and she's the one who made the Quad Revolution
she has every right to be angry and to cry (and I cry with her)#FigureSkating pic.twitter.com/8OioJU2hc9— laura (@silence_comes) February 17, 2022
sasha trusova, don't cry 💔🥺 we love u pic.twitter.com/wdJlXN1VkD
— KT stan ✨ (@ktuohyfans) February 17, 2022
Trusova: “I will never go on the ice again in my life! I hate this sport, I hate it! You can't do it this way! You can't do it this way! Everyone has a gold medal, but not me. You knew everything!" pic.twitter.com/pjZZ5wEPu3
— Asta Žukaitė (@Asta_Zukaite) February 17, 2022
I’m crying for kami. Trusova is crying and screaming. Kami is crying. Anna is the saddest Olympic gold medalist ever. Kaori doesn’t know what to say. And in the midst of this I imagine empress Elizaveta sitting at home with her popcorn bowl filled.
— global petition for vlada + ZJ yassification ✨ (@Vladawolfturns) February 17, 2022
She feels betrayed. Not just olympic gold medals, but worlds medals, GPF medals, Euro medals, etc. Sasha has never won any of them, and she probably feels like her life’s work is wasted all bc of coaches who never really cared about her
— ELfs (@ELi913913) February 17, 2022
Astonishing postscript to a chaotic women’s event. Sasha Trusova awarded silver medal after historic five quad performance. “I will never go out on the ice again. I hate this sport.” (To coach Eteri Tutberidze): You knew everything. Everyone has gold medals. Only I don’t.” https://t.co/TqNCYsrfyn
— Eoin O'Callaghan (@EoinOCallaghan) February 17, 2022
Trusova could be seen wiping away tears on NBC's coverage of the event, and apparently had to be talked out of threatening to attend the medal ceremony.
The Russian pair of Trusova and Scherbakova skated the routines of their lives.
Trusova’s aggressive, five-quad performance was a masterpiece of daring and aggression. Scherbakova’s more graceful routine was the Monet to Trusova’s Van Gogh, sentimentality rather than fiery passion. Both performances were magnificent, but only one proved victorious.
The 17-year-old Trusova set a record-breaking 100 points for her technical score, but was marked down due to the other key component of the event - artistry.
“I’m very glad that I did perform the five quadruple jumps, and it took me a long time to achieve this," Trusova said afterwards.
"I’m more than happy today with my performance,” she added in a tone that conveys anything but happiness.
For gold medal winner Shcherbakova it was bizarre feeling of mixed emotions, with her joy of victory curtailed by the scenes of devastation around her Russian teammates.
“I’m just overwhelmed by happiness on one hand,” Shcherbakova said, moments after winning gold.
“On the other hand, I feel this emptiness inside somehow.”
It was an uncomfortable finish to an event that had been grossly overshadowed by the doping scandal that engulfed Valieva.
Kamila Valieva in tears after heartbreaking finish
In its decision to allow the 15-year-old to compete in Beijing despite testing positive for a banned substance, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) cited “exceptional circumstances” and the "irreparable harm” it was cause if the teen was banned.
As honourable as that sentiment might have been, the intense pressure and spotlight on Valieva already appeared to have caused the skater irreparable harm as her final performance ended in multiple falls and tears.
Valieva had been in pole position after topping the short program on Tuesday and had been expected to add the singles title to the team crown she led Russia to before the doping controversy erupted.
The International Olympic Committee had said that for the first time in Olympic history, no medals would be awarded if Valieva finished in the top three because she could yet be punished for taking a banned substance.
NBC commentators Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski, who had been vocal about the disdain that Valieva was allowed to keep skating, were brutal in their reactions to her fall.
“Thank God!" Lipinski exclaimed. “Thank goodness for all the other medallists to have that moment.”
Weir added: “And to have done it cleanly.”
In the end that was not a factor as Valieva, dressed in black and red, fell several times in her routine.
The distraught teenager had her head in her hands at the end and then broke down as she waited to hear her score.
It was the latest sad chapter in a doping saga which began when Valieva's sample from December 25 tested positive for trimetazidine, a drug used to treat angina but which is banned for athletes by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) because it can boost endurance.
CAS ruled during the Games that Valieva could continue to skate in the Olympics, but it did not absolve her of doping and the investigation looks set to rumble on well after the action ends in Beijing.
with agencies
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