A new video has surfaced of 15-year-old Olympic skater Kamila Valieva’s coaches berating her after she comes off the ice weeping after falling during her routine. The teenager, who failed a drug test, came in fourth.
Coach Eteri Tutberidze was caught on camera ranting at her: ‘Why did you let it go? Why did you stop fighting? Explain. After the axel you just let it go.’
In response, IOC chief Thomas Bach called for governments to look into the role of entourages around young athletes after what he described as ‘chilling’ to witness Russian teenage skater Kamila Valieva reception from the people closest to her.
‘When I saw how she was received by her entourage, but what appeared to be a tremendous coldness, it was chilling to see this,’ said Bach. He added, ‘All of this does not give me much confidence in the this closest entourage of Kamila. Neither with regard to what happened in the past, nor as far as it concerns the future, how to deal with and treat a minor athlete at the age of 15, under such obvious stress.’