Russian figure skating news & updates in 2022

Status
Not open for further replies.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
m.youtube.com m.youtube.com

Russian senior test skates -SP
 
Well after hearing about Valieva’s free skate it seems the Russian skating and Tutberidze are doubling down hard.

Not really sure what kind of pathway in the future could allow anyone to believe Russian skaters are clean.

Although it seems to that being out of competition and being able to stage these exhibitions is actually in Tutberidze’s favour as her team is weakened by injury and would probably not fare so well in actual competition.
 
Eteri tearfully clutching Valieva after her test skate free is beyond performative.

This is all theatrics.

Interesting though because the glory and success for Eteri for the next while is going to be in shows and endorsements rather than medals and prize money for whatever wunderkind is next.

For the moment she seems to have pivoted into this exhibition style drama rather than solely being focused on the ultra elements (which is what old Eteri would have done).
 
starrynight said:
Eteri tearfully clutching Valieva after her test skate free is beyond performative.

This is all theatrics.

Interesting though because the glory and success for Eteri for the next while is going to be in shows and endorsements rather than medals and prize money for whatever wunderkind is next.

For the moment she seems to have pivoted into this exhibition style drama rather than solely being focused on the ultra elements (which is what old Eteri would have done).
Click to expand...
Kamila now has a normal body with injuries, in her own words she cannot afford to fall from a quad now. Trusova's body has also changed.

They will never see what's right in front of them.
 
allezfred said:
She is 16.
Click to expand...
I don't think 16 is such a very young age where she can't even have a concept of personal responsibility. How do you suddenly develop it by the age of 18 or 19? I'm not talking about the doping which I'm sure had a ton of pressure and we don't know what was being said to her behind the scenes. However, judging by the words in the interview, I'm not so sure she's got zero responsibility when it comes to this program. It very much does seem she's bought into the victimhood of it all, and perhaps the anti-West narrative. Now how much of that is her responding to the trauma of what she experienced during the Olympics or is her being manipulated by her coaches right now, is something that can be questioned.

But ultimately, I don't think Valieva should be banned. I want Eteri gone because she seems completely remorseless and I'm 100% sure she'd do it again if she could get away with it.
 
16 is old enough to know right from wrong, sure, but growing up in an abusive environment means it's almost impossible to switch from obeying your coach and parroting what you're told to asserting your will and thinking independently, especially when Eteri has made an example of every skater who's tried to do that in the past.

I'm over 30 and my parents still revert to treating me as a teenager when I go home and I fall into old patterns of behaviour with them. If it's that hard to maintain boundaries for an adult who's put distance between themself and their childhood, and has independence, and isn't traumatised by years of abusive treatment, how much harder must it be for a teenager whose life has been controlled by someone like Eteri since childhood to wake up one day in the exact same environment, when nothing in her relationship with her coach has changed (and in fact Russian figure skating has been cut off from the international community, so the goodwill of coaches, federation officials, politicians and sponsors have become even more important to your survival), and say, "I'm old enough now not to do what you tell me, so let's redefine our relationship; from now I decide wha music I skate to"? It's just not realistic to expect that of her just because she's 16. Eteri would laugh in her face at best.

Which doesn't mean I like Valieva's recent conduct or anything. But she's still a victim, not someone with her own agency.
 
Holy Headband said:
16 is old enough to know right from wrong, sure, but growing up in an abusive environment means it's almost impossible to switch from obeying your coach and parroting what you're told to asserting your will and thinking independently, especially when Eteri has made an example of every skater who's tried to do that in the past.
Click to expand...

Not only that, but people of any age are only going to know what they have been taught is right or wrong within a specific cultural context. Just because she’s 16 doesn’t mean Valieva necessarily has access to information or viewpoints outside the mainstream Russian media narrative. The problem is not only that she lacks agency in this situation, although I’m sure that’s also true, but that she’s being fed nothing but lies and propaganda. She can’t make those “right” choices or push for different narratives of her story when she probably has limited awareness that those options even exist.

As for suggestions that her new program is heavy handed, etc., and that she should have pushed back… I wouldn’t be surprised if it was her idea. Teen angst and total lack of subtlety are pretty universal. She’s telling the story she believes is true in a pretty teenager-ish way.
 
Her environment revels in the wrong. It might be very very difficult to do the right if your family condones whats going on around you. But she is old enough to seek counsel but would anyone be willing to really tell her the truth. Its just an alternate universe.
 
No matter what you are being told, certainly a 16 year old can ask themselves "I am accused of having an unfair advantage by consuming/receiving a substance that is forbidden in my sport - is there any truth to that?" I did test positive so how do I believe it was in my system - I drank out of a glass belonging to my grandfather and so my sample was innocently tainted - or - I and perhaps others I train with have been administered this substance with the clear intent to give us an unfair advantage?
 
puglover said:
No matter what you are being told, certainly a 16 year old can ask themselves "I am accused of having an unfair advantage by consuming/receiving a substance that is forbidden in my sport - is there any truth to that?" I did test positive so how do I believe it was in my system - I drank out of a glass belonging to my grandfather and so my sample was innocently tainted - or - I and perhaps others I train with have been administered this substance with the clear intent to give us an unfair advantage?
Click to expand...
You really expect a 16 year old who was likely backed into a corner, having to speak for herself on the biggest stage of her life, was going to sit there and tell exactly what has been going on if she maybe didn't even know? We don't even know what she knew or didn't know, we don't know if she was given vitamins or other perfectly legal substances along with the one that had the positive test, etc. For all we know, she didn't know anything was going on or better, that she didn't understand the science behind what she was taking, and then she was pushed to give that narrative.

And before the saints of FSU come and say 'I would've done the right thing, because I do everything perfect every time and I was the best child ever', just think about the pressure she was under and the expectations she had. She may have been taken by surprise (as far as having done anything illegally) with the news just as all of us were.
 
tony said:
You really expect a 16 year old who was likely backed into a corner, having to speak for herself on the biggest stage of her life, was going to sit there and tell exactly what has been going on if she maybe didn't even know? We don't even know what she knew or didn't know, we don't know if she was given vitamins or other perfectly legal substances along with the one that had the positive test, etc. For all we know, she didn't know anything was going on or better, that she didn't understand the science behind what she was taking, and then she was pushed to give that narrative.

And before the saints of FSU come and say 'I would've done the right thing, because I do everything perfect every time and I was the best child ever', just think about the pressure she was under and the expectations she had. She may have been taken by surprise (as far as having done anything illegally) with the news just as all of us were.
Click to expand...
No I do not, nor have i ever said that and I have previously always been very compassionate towards her. We are now months away from the pain and drama of the Olympics. I would assume she has had time away from the spotlight and time with family and friends to discuss this. I personally do not think she should ever be expected to speak about it. For me, the theme of this program, the way she pulled the hood up, is off putting. And I have never claimed to do the right thing all the time. My heart went out to her tremendously at the time but not so much now JMHO.
 
As a teacher, I've known 16 year olds who are independent minded and question authority. I've also known 16 year olds that don't have independent thoughts and just parrot everything told to them by their families. There's a wide spectrum here of mentality, and I don't think it's fair to try to pigeonhole Valieva into a place where she's a perpetrator and not a victim. In US high schools, we are still teaching kids (and yes, they're KIDS) how to be responsible adults. While a teenager knows the basics of right/wrong, applying that is an entirely different thing.

There are so many values that we have, so many values that we are told to have. They all don't and can't always co-exist, and certain values take precedence over others. It's age-old ethics questions and, honestly, I don't believe half of those vilifying Valieva can even explain their own hierarchy of values in a clear concise way. Yet, we expect this of a 16 year old? So many adults can't even be honest with themselves and live in states of self-denial or personal falsehoods. Yet, we expect otherwise of a 16 year old?

For example, what takes precedence - loyalty to one's family, loyalty to one's self, loyalty to one's country? Different people will have different answers for that. Even then, how does that loyalty manifest? Different people will express those loyalties differently. Would you steal a loaf of bread to feed your starving sister? Would you live a lie so that your family could be free from poverty? Would you act unethically to avoid public persecution and ostracization?

How can people circle the square of Eteri having an abusive training environment, yet somehow that doesn't extend to Valieva? That Eteri is psychologically & emotionally abusive, yet Valieva isn't a product of that abuse?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)

Similar threads

Sylvia
Russian Skaters Allowed to Compete as Neutrals (AIN) to Qualify for 2026 Winter Olympics
16 17 18
Replies
512
Views
67K
Dobre
D
Sylvia
2024-2025 Synchro News
Replies
6
Views
2K
just tuned in
J
Sylvia
USFS' Athlete Selection Procedures for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games
Replies
0
Views
876
Sylvia
Sylvia
O
Request mods to break the Korean Skating thread up
Replies
0
Views
1K
On My Own
O
VGThuy
The Shibutanis Thread 7 . . . Years Later
Replies
10
Views
2K
my little pony
my little pony
Back
Top
Do Not Sell My Personal Information