Olympics, Beijing 2022: Valieva first in figure skating after the doping case

After winning gold in the team competition – a medal that it is not yet known if and when it will be able to collect – and having ended up at the center of the doping affair that is upsetting the Games, Kamila Valieva returns to the competition on the ice of the Capital Indoor Stadium, marking the short program of the single with his signature. The fifteen year old from Kazan closes the first part of the race in the lead, with a lead of 1.96 points over her compatriot Anna Shcherbakova, 2.32 over the Japanese Kaori Sakamoto and 7.56 over the other Russian Alexandra Trusova. Stronger than the accusations, the appeals and the decisions of the judgments, Valieva proves to be a race car, showing the best of her on the track. She is not flawless, because with an error on the triple she Axel she leaves precious points on the ice, but here more than the records she has to think only of staying ahead of her rivals. The most awaited moment of the evening comes at 21.38 when the skater trained by Eteri Tutberidze appears on the ice for the warm-up. She is not alone, to keep her company with her are the other five of the fifth and final rotation. She wears a white jacket and mask, she waits for the announcer to announce her name, then sheds her overcoat and begins the last leg. To welcome her there are the applause of about 600 spectators eager to see her in action. A quarter of an hour later the moment of her program comes. Two minutes and forty seconds skated to the notes of “In Memoriam” by compatriot Kirill Richter. The 160-centimeter wren, forged at the Sambo 70 Academy, wears a purple costume and respects the sequence declared on the eve. She starts badly with a step-out on triple Axel, but she is still good at avoiding the crash. She then recovers in a great way, placing the triple Flip and triple Lutz combination with triple Toeloop without problems. The sequences of steps and the pirouettes are all considered level 4, so the first obstacle is overcome with ease, although the tension is skyrocketing: the tears at the end of the performance demonstrate it. At Kiss and Cry the coach hands her the jacket waiting for the result: 44.51 for the seven technical elements, 37.65 for the components of the program. The total of 82.16 she sends her in command of her, a position she will hold until the end.

Deburring

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Compared to the short program of the team test, Valieva scores 8.02 points less, of which 6.06 to be attributed to the burr on the initial triple Axel. Obviously his record of 90.45 signed at the Tallinn European Championship in January remains far away, but here the records have now faded into the background. The Juniores world champion, as well as fresh with the absolute continental title, leaves the arena satisfied, letting herself escape even a smile. After her Alexandra Trusova falls on the triple Axel, Anna Shcherbakova performs everything perfectly, but limiting herself to the double Axel without attempting the triple, while the Japanese Sakamoto does her, but also in this case the Axel is only double. Next appointment for Kamila on Thursday, when in the free program she will perform on the notes of Ravel’s Bolero, hunting for a medal, which however she goes she will not be able to collect at the end of the competition. Meanwhile, as proposed by the IOC, 25 instead of the canonical 24 qualify for the second part.