BEIJING — The clapping for Kamila Valieva started before she had finished skating Thursday. It wasn’t because she was performing wonderfully; it was because she was struggling.
With two falls and other mistakes in her free skate to “Bolero,” the 15-year-old Russian plummeted in the rankings from No. 1 after the short program to fourth place overall at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
Suddenly, one of the International Olympic Committee’s two problems was solved. The IOC declared that there would be no medal ceremony if Valieva finished in the Top 3 — and not even a “flower” ceremony at Capital Indoor Stadium — because her doping case is still being decided.
But within 10 minutes of the announcement of Valieva’s score, a podium was brought out onto the ice and stuffed Bing Dwen Dwen mascots were handed to the medalists.
There also will be a medal ceremony with two Russian Olympic Committee flags raised, but they will be for gold medalist Anna Shcherbakova and silver medalist Alexandra Trusova, who train with Valieva. The bronze medalist is Sakamoto Kaori of Japan.
Valieva now goes home to fight a doping case that has cast a pall over the Beijing Games and put her under enormous pressure and scrutiny.
She tested positive for a banned substance on December 25, although the result was not revealed until Feb. 8, after Valieva had helped Russia win the figure skating team gold medal. That medal could still be stripped from Russia — the second IOC problem — depending on how the doping case plays out.
While her competitors were preparing for the women’s singles event, Valieva was preparing her testimony to the Court of Arbitration for Sport Ad Hoc division. The panel ruled that she could compete because it would be a greater disservice to disqualify her before her case was concluded.
A day later, Valieva performed valiantly in Tuesdays’ short program, and came into the free skate with a narrow lead over Shcherbakova, the reigning world champion.
Valieva remained the favorite based on her national and European titles and her world records. In the team event, she had become the first female skater to land a quadruple jump, completing two in her free skate.
When Valieva shot out of the gate onto the ice, it appeared that the Russians could sweep the top 3 places. Her season best was 185.29 points and she needed 173.80 to move into the lead.
The embattled teenager seemed composed as she began her program. But on Valieva’s first jump, a quadruple salchow, she under-rotated, lost her balance and hung on. She took a step on her triple axel. For her combination, she took a step landing her quadruple toe loop and fell on her triple salchow. She fell again on her quadruple toe loop.
When she finished, she made a hand motion like she dismissed the whole program, then put her hands on knees. Valieva bent over dejected, and then took her bows, a distressed look on her face.
She scored 141.93 points, which ranked fifth in the free skate, for a total of 224.09. Shcherbakova’s total was 255.95, with Trusova — who had the winning free skate — scoring 253.73 and Sakamoto 233.13.
And now Valieva not only does not have a medal hanging around her neck, she has a doping case hanging over her head.
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