Thomas Bach lashes out at “tremendous coldness” of Kamila Valieva entourage after fourth-place finish

BEIJING — International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach was “very, very disturbed” watching Kamila Valieva struggle and fall through the women’s free skate, and has called for an investigation of her entourage by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

He also said the Executive Board will examine the issue of minors in senior competition.

In what Bach termed “the very sad story about Kamila Valieva,” the 15-year-old tested positive for a banned substance and was allowed to participate in the women’s singles event — against the wishes of the IOC — due to a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

She fell twice in an error-filled program, dropping from first place after the short program to fourth overall. After coming off the ice, Valieva was berated by her coach, who said, “Why did you let it go? Why did you stop fighting. Explain it to me — why?”

Bach, an Olympic fencing gold medalist, said he knows “a little bit about pressure, but this pressure is beyond my imagination.”

Bach watched the competition on television, which some observers see as a deliberate decision to avoid being part of the scene at Capital Indoor Stadium, where Valieva was expected to win an event with an asterisk until her doping case is concluded. Because she did not make the podium, there can now be a medal ceremony.

“In every moment and in the body language, you could feel that this is an immense mental stress and maybe she would have preferred just to leave the ice and try to leave this story behind her,” Bach said. “But this was not all. When I afterwards saw how she was received by her closest entourage, with what appeared to be a tremendous coldness, it was chilling to see this. Rather than giving her comfort, rather than to try to help her, you could feel this chilling atmosphere.”

He said Valieva’s coaches, including primary coach Eteri Tutberidze, “made it even worse” because of “dismissive gestures.”

Bach added that comments made by silver medalist Alexandra Trusova about how she is treated by the same staff at the club where she, Valieva and gold medalist Anna Shcherbakova train “does not give me much confidence in this closest entourage of Kamila, neither in regard with what happened in the past, or as far as it concerns the future — how to deal, how to address, how to treat a minor athlete at the age of 15 under such an obvious mental stress.”

The IOC President said he hopes Valieva has the support of her family and friends so the situation is addressed “in the right way and there is not a dramatic experience for such a young woman.”

But he said the IOC is also taking steps to make sure a situation like this does not occur again.

The EB has begun to address the issue of minors in senior competition, which amplifies the importance of entourage, the coaches, doctors and staff surrounding the athlete.

“This needs careful deliberation and needs consultation on two fronts,” Bach said, “the one is with regard to WADA to see whether there is the need to adapt the rules. The other stakeholders are the international federations and whether the establishment of a minimum age for participation is an appropriate measure.”

“We will initiate such a discussion and a least give them some food for thought.”

One of the reasons that Valieva was ruled eligible to participate by CAS is her status as a “protected person” under age 16. As such, the standards of evidence she must meet are not as strict.

“For me, personally, the anti-doping rules are to ensure a fair competition,” Bach said. This leads me to the conclusion in a fair competition, the same rules have to apply to everybody.

“We have to see how this can be achieved, while respecting the special circumstances of athletes being minor and what is going on there. This will be for the future.”

As the former chair of the IOC disciplinary commission, Bach heard his fair share of doping cases. “After having to listen to many lies and many explanations of doping cases, I realized that doping very rarely happens alone by the athletes,” he said, “you always have an entourage.”

He said the WADA investigative unit has agreed to look into the Valieva matter.

“This is why we have asked for the inquiry to shed light on all of this,” Bach said. “We trust WADA. This will come to light, then we will not hesitate to take the appropriate measures. When I speak of the proper, the right measures, these will be very strong measures.”

Bach defended the process by which Valieva was allowed to compete. “There’s only one choice, to follow the rule of law, even if you are not necessarily happy with the decision,” Bach said.

The fact that the ruling took place less that 48 hours before she skated, he said, “is not in our responsibility.”

Bach said he also hopes the Olympic Movement can work together with governments of the world to “harmonize legislation.”

It’s almost impossible, but we keep trying,” he said. “With betting, the IOC took the lead. Here WADA has to take the lead and make more efforts to convince the governments that if they want to help, if they want to have a more deterrent effect on the entourage, they need to take action. It is not enough if these people are getting a sanction from a sports organization which by nature is extremely limited.”