Russian Trio of Skaters Face Uncertain Futures After Drama 

 

The gold medalist said she felt empty. The silver medalist pledged never to skate again. The favorite left in tears without saying a word.

After one of the most dramatic nights in their sport's history, Russia's trio of teenage figure skating stars each enters an uncertain future.

Her Olympics and life turned upside down by a doping case, world record holder Kamila Valieva faces a possible ban, and a coach whose first response to her disastrous skate Thursday was criticism.

"Why did you let it go? Why did you stop fighting?" cameras caught Eteri Tutberidze — the notoriously strict coach who will be investigated over Valieva's failed drug test — telling the 15-year-old after she fell twice and ｄropped out of medal contention.

As Valieva placed fourth and left in tears, she received a message of support from 2018 silver medalist Evgenia Medvedeva.

"I am so happy that this hell is over for you," Medvedeva posted on Instagram. "I really value you and love you and I'm happy that you can relax now, little kitten. I congratulate you on the end of the Olympics and I hope that you can live calmly and breathe."

Unfortunately for Valieva, she can't relax just yet. The failed drug test which turned her life upside down still hangs over her head.

While she was allowed to keep skating in Beijing by the Court of Arbitration for Sport to avoid "irreparable harm," that ruling is valid only until a full investigation of her December 25 test for the banned substance trimetazidine is resolved. The case could take months and still cost Valieva and her Russian teammates the gold medal they won in last week's team event.

Shcherbakova seemed unsure how to react to the drama unfolding around her, and said she felt sorry for Valieva. "I still don't comprehend what has happened. On the one hand, I feel happy, on the other, I feel this emptiness inside."

As she tries to recover from a failure on the sport's biggest stage, Valieva remains at the center of a confrontation between Russia and international institutions. About six hours before she took to the ice, Russian Olympic Committee president Stanislav Pozdnyakov said he would not give up the team event gold medal "under any circumstances, regardless of the results of the disciplinary investigation into the athlete."

Just one of many unresolved questions for the three young Russian skaters.

 

 

Words in the story: 

 

uncertain- adj not known beyond doubt: dubious;  not having certain knowledge 

pledge- n  a bailment of a chattel as security for a debt or other obligation without involving the transfer of title; 

notoriously- adv as is notorious: as is very well known: in a notorious manner

contention- n  a point advanced or maintained in a debate or argument; rivalry, competition

circumstances- n a condition, fact, or event accompanying, conditioning, or determining another: an essential or inevitable

 

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https://www.voanews.com/a/russian-trio-of-skaters-face-uncertain-futures-after-drama-/6446600.html