Russian figure skating news & updates in 2022

[coppertop1]

Seeing Putin with Valieva, all I can think of is President Snow crowning the Victor of the Hunger Games. So glad Anna isn't there. More power to her.

 

[Yuri]

Another Russian article from sports.ru on the meetings of the Olympic gold medalists with Putin and the silver/bronze medalists (including Trusova and the men's hockey team plus coaches like Zhulin) with other high-ranking members of his administration, including Navka's husband:

Наши олимпийцы в Кремле: к Путину попали только чемпионы (им советовали не брать телефоны), Валиевой налили лимонад вместо шампанского

www.sports.ru

These meetings were broadcast on Russian TV and only nine athletes met with Putin. Kamila Valieva turned 16 today, so rather than joining the champagne toast she was served lemonade. As otherwise noted, Olympic gold medalist Anna Shcherbakova and her coach Eteri Tutberidze (plus a men's skiing champion) did not attend the festivities due to the Champions on Ice tour.

 

[MsZem]

Oh brother. Russian pairs are morally DQing themselves quickly.

At this point I am good with the Americans and the Japanese trading off titles for the foreseeable future.

Kondratiuk is very much there, please, check the link.

Oh, damn. He seems like a nice guy and I wanted to like him...

ETA: if this is what he actually said, I'm done with him.

 

[pp55]

(Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that teenage figure skater Kamila Valieva's performances could not have been achieved with the help of any banned substances.

Putin says Valieva's skating 'perfection' could not be achieved with doping

Valieva, who turned 16 on Tuesday, failed a doping test at the Russian national championships last December but the result was only revealed on Feb. 8, a day after she had already helped the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) win the team event at the Beijing Games. The case cast a shadow on...

ca.news.yahoo.com

 

[Wyliefan]

Oh, well, that settles that then.

 

[ChelleC]

(Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that teenage figure skater Kamila Valieva's performances could not have been achieved with the help of any banned substances.

Putin says Valieva's skating 'perfection' could not be achieved with doping

Valieva, who turned 16 on Tuesday, failed a doping test at the Russian national championships last December but the result was only revealed on Feb. 8, a day after she had already helped the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) win the team event at the Beijing Games. The case cast a shadow on...

ca.news.yahoo.com

Wow, the skating news out of Russia keeps getting better and better today.

 

[ChelleC]

ETA: if this is what he actually said, I'm done with him.

I just threw my phone after reading that, the words that came out of my mouth would get me banned, and today I've learned how I would feel when it's my favorites who said garbage.

That Eteri of all people is the "decent" one in this. SMH.

 

[PRlady]

I’d like future references to Putin in the media to be “war criminal and doping apologist Vladimir Putin said today….”

Mark is now Warmonger Jesus.

 

[clairecloutier]

Just want to say that we don't really know anything about Tutberidze's current thoughts/plans. And she has cozied up plenty to Putin in the past.

 

[MsZem]

Mark is now Warmonger Jesus.

It was certainly not a very Christ-like comment.

 

[Karen-W]

I just threw my phone after reading that, the words that came out of my mouth would get me banned, and today I've learned how I would feel when it's my favorites who said garbage.

That Eteri of all people is the "decent" one in this. SMH.

Seriously. Eteri's absence is conspicuous, to say the least. And thank goodness Shcherbakova and her family have enough sense to keep her away from this propaganda shit show.

 

[Spikefan]

So disappointed in Mark, not surprised by the others. Thankfully I can remain a fan of Shcherbakova for now. I think her sister attends school outside of Russia. Hopefully she can do the same if she wants to.

 

[ChelleC]

Just want to say that we don't really know anything about Tutberidze's current thoughts/plans. And she has cozied up plenty to Putin in the past.

True, but she's not at the Kremlin today.

 

[PRlady]

True, but she's not at the Kremlin today.

My wild-assed guess is that she begged off by playing the mom card and saying her status for visiting Diana in the US could be jeopardized by political activity. She probably has the clout to get away with it.

 

[Elka]

Mishina: I would like to say thank you for the development of our sport

More correct would be to say thank you for the sport being banned for (I hope many) years.

 

[Vagabond]

That Eteri of all people is the "decent" one in this. SMH.

Tutberidze sent a sixteen-year-old girl to have a toast with Putin. There is no decency in that.

 

[airgelaal]

And these people insist that sport is out of politics.
I have nothing against patriotism, but these words of gratitude to putin personally...
Does anyone seriously think they were forced to be there and say exactly what they said?

 

[PRlady]

Tutberidze sent a sixteen-year-old girl to have a toast with Putin. There is no decency in that.

But Eteri also knows Kamila is toast outside Russia, so she’d better keep the domestic audience happy.

 

[Stephanie]

Tutberidze sent a sixteen-year-old girl to have a toast with Putin. There is no decency in that.

This could have been Kamila's (brainwashed) family's decision, not Eteri's.

 

[Vagabond]

But Eteri also knows Kamila is toast outside Russia, so she’d better keep the domestic audience happy.

That isn't decency. It's opportunism.

 

[airgelaal]

Tutberidze sent a sixteen-year-old girl to have a toast with Putin. There is no decency in that.

If she is disqualified for doping, then she may have to forget about international competitions forever. Then parents may well want to monetize her success as much as possible at home

 

[Coco]

Perhaps Anna wasn't invited because her gold from the individual event is viewed as rightly belonging to Valieva?

 

[Yuri]

I admit to being a bit confused and miffed at the hate directed towards the athletes attending the ceremonies at the Kremlin today honoring the Olympics medalists. This is nothing new and a regular occurrence in Russia as well as in the former USSR, just as American Olympic medalists routinely visit the White House to meet with the US President. Attending isn't an endorsement, one shows up to get the opportunity to visit the Kremlin and/or White House regardless of who is holding the office of President (or Supreme Soviet leader, back in the USSR days).

My friends Grishuk and Platov met at least three Russian leaders at the Kremlin for receptions over the years: Boris Yeltzin, Vladimir Putin, and Dmitri Medvedev. Oksana also vaguely remembers meeting Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, earlier in her skating career. Until it became trendy to boycott former US President Donald Trump, it's been just as routine for Olympians to travel to the White House to meet with and be honored by the US President, whether a Democrat or a Republican. I'm sure the USA and Russia aren't alone in countries honoring their champion athletes. These events were never supposed to be overtly political, and both countries have been involved in wars (even the "Cold War") during many of these celebrations. In the USA, almost all champion pro and college teams visit the White House as well (at least during pre-pandemic times). I'm sure it's just a matter of time before the 2022 USA Winter Olympian medalists will visit President Biden in Washington DC.

The main difference is that in the USA it is possible to boycott such ceremonies and, among certain parties, be celebrated for doing so. Clearly this was never an option in the former USSR or in the President Putin-led Russia era, given he's the former KGB chief. So let's please lay off these athletes a bit and try to understand that, as in social media, a "like" isn't necessarily an "endorsement".

 

[sus2850]

Anna is indeed not there:

Instagram

www.instagram.com

Wow... I'm impressed. (I think some other gold medallists are missing too, russia had more gold medals, no?)

Who is the man on the left? And the second on the right?

 

[reut]

Who is the man on the left? And the second on the right?

Here you can find them all tagged:

kamila valieva fan group on Instagram: "Олимпийские чемпионы на встрече с президентом 🥇🇷🇺❤️ #командароссии #командагероев . . . . #カミラワリエワ #ワリエワ #卡米拉瓦利耶娃 #камилавалиева #валиева #валиевакамила #фигуристка #фигурист #фигуристы #лед #фк #фигурноеката

440 likes, 9 comments - v.kamila.fs on April 26, 2022: "Олимпийские чемпионы на встрече с президентом 🥇🇷🇺❤️ #командароссии #командагероев . . . . #カミラワリエワ #ワリエワ #卡米拉瓦利耶娃 #камилавалиева #валиева #валиевакамила #фигуристка #фигурист #фигуристы #лед #фк #фигурноекатание #чемпион #чемпионка...

www.instagram.com

 

[Frau Muller]

…..

The main difference is that in the USA it is possible to boycott such ceremonies and, among certain parties, be celebrated for doing so. Clearly this was never an option in the former USSR or in the President Putin-led Russia era, given he's the former KGB chief. So let's please lay off these athletes a bit and try to understand that, as in social media, a "like" isn't necessarily an "endorsement".

Exactly. It’s about respect for the office of the presidency of one’s country, regardless of who was voted into power.

 

[MsZem]

I admit to being a bit confused and miffed at the hate directed towards the athletes attending the ceremonies at the Kremlin today honoring the Olympics medalists. This is nothing new and a regular occurrence in Russia as well as in the former USSR, just as American Olympic medalists routinely visit the White House to meet with the US President.
...
The main difference is that in the USA it is possible to boycott such ceremonies and, among certain parties, be celebrated for doing so. Clearly this was never an option in the former USSR or in the President Putin-led Russia era, given he's the former KGB chief. So let's please lay off these athletes a bit and try to understand that, as in social media, a "like" isn't necessarily an "endorsement".

Yes, during the Trump administration lots of athletes and teams skipped the White House visits.

As for today's event, I can understand having to attend such a thing, but the gushing statements are too much for me. If the Russian skaters are going to milkshake-duck themselves, that's on them.

 

[Spikefan]

Here you can find them all tagged:

kamila valieva fan group on Instagram: "Олимпийские чемпионы на встрече с президентом 🥇🇷🇺❤️ #командароссии #командагероев . . . . #カミラワリエワ #ワリエワ #卡米拉瓦利耶娃 #камилавалиева #валиева #валиевакамила #фигуристка #фигурист #фигуристы #лед #фк #фигурноеката

440 likes, 9 comments - v.kamila.fs on April 26, 2022: "Олимпийские чемпионы на встрече с президентом 🥇🇷🇺❤️ #командароссии #командагероев . . . . #カミラワリエワ #ワリエワ #卡米拉瓦利耶娃 #камилавалиева #валиева #валиевакамила #фигуристка #фигурист #фигуристы #лед #фк #фигурноекатание #чемпион #чемпионка...

www.instagram.com

Clicking on some of those tags tells you clearly where they stand based on their posts and writings. The cross country skier Stepanova, .

 

[MsZem]

Clicking on some of those tags tells you clearly where they stand based on their posts and writings. The cross country skier Stepanova, .

Shockingly, the most reasonable post is from Katsalapov. Not that this necessarily means anything.

 

[airgelaal]

Clicking on some of those tags tells you clearly where they stand based on their posts and writings. The cross country skier Stepanova, .

Oh, I also liked her posts. For example.

Only we, the Russians ,will ever decide how we want to live and who shall be our leader. The last thing we care about is an outside opinion on the matter

And if instead of the word "Russians" we write the word "Ukrainians", then we see a very interesting statement...