In Memoriam, No More

Part 1- Echoes from Beijing

A young girl floats around the ice, with her arms outstretched. It seems she wants to catch something, but it keeps eluding her. She doesn’t give up, she moves faster, almost as if she is captivated by the object of her pursuit. She leaps into the air with a glorious twirl, then comes back to the ice and glides again. All the while, a poignant piece of music plays in the background, a music that echoes the longing for the ones who are no longer with us. The music and the rhythmic sound of the blades on ice created a symphony. An audience looks on with stunned silence and then a gasp, almost to take a moment- to comprehend the beauty of what has unfolded in front of their eyes. Then, they erupt in applause, with a lump in the throat and a tear in the eye.

This was Kamila Valieva, a figure skating prodigy from Kazan, Russia performing to Kirill Richter’s ‘In Memoriam’ on 6th February, 2022 at the Beijing Winter Olympics. This was the women’s short program of the team event and it was the world’s first glimpse of Valieva on the Olympic stage. Valieva, was not just a 15 year old blessed with athletic talent, she was a symbol of perfection in her sport. Someone who could blend technical excellence and artistry with seamless ease.

Her skating was described as ‘Weightless’.

‘In Memoriam’ was her triumph — 2 minutes 40 seconds, where time seemed to stand still, where even the most casual viewer was quietly overwhelmed by emotion.

The finale of the team event was the Women’s free program. Team gold for the Russian Olympic Committee was a foregone conclusion (they couldn’t compete under the Russian flag, as the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) had issued a two year ban for manipulation of data from a Moscow laboratory). Kamila skated her signature ‘Bolero’ program (a program which had earned her the world record previously at the Rostelecom Cup in 2021, for the highest ever free skate score- a record which still stands). Expectedly, Valieva took the top spot, albeit with a fall on her 3rd quad jump. Of course, earlier in the program, she already made history becoming the first woman to ever land a quad jump at the Olympics. The Russian Olympic Committee had team gold, and Valieva had her first. Most experts believed that individual gold will soon follow, stamping Valieva as the greatest of her era and perhaps the Greatest of All Time.

But Time, had different ideas.

In the early hours of 8th February (Beijing Time), the WADA lab in Stockholm, confirmed an “adverse analytical finding” in Kamila Valieva’s sample collected during the Russian Championships held in December 2021. The substance detected was Trimetazidine (TMZ) — a banned heart medication.

Before the Olympics, Valieva — the prodigy was the cynosure of all eyes, now the narrative had taken a dramatic turn.

What followed was an unprecedented & controversial sequence of events. The Russian Anti Doping Agency (RUSADA) provisionally suspended Valieva and the medal ceremony for the team event was postponed indefinitely. Valieva appealed her suspension, and the RUSADA lifted her ban on the grounds that she was a protected minor.

The International Testing Agency, acting on behalf of the International Olympic Committee, World Anti-Doping Agency, and the International Skating Union, appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to reinstate Valieva’s provisional suspension.

On 14 February 2022, CAS delivered its ruling. Valieva, classified as a “Protected Person” due to her age, was permitted to continue competing. The panel cited concerns over irreparable harm, as well as the delay in the reporting of the test result. A full investigation, it noted, would follow.

What came next made the situation even more contentious.

Valieva was allowed to compete in the women’s individual event. However, if she were to finish in the top three, no medal ceremony would be held until the case was fully resolved.

A trial by media followed. At the centre of the storm, was a 15 year old.

Large sections of Western media strongly criticized the decision to allow Kamila Valieva to compete. Former Olympic champion Tara Lipinski said that it compromised the very integrity of the Olympic movement.

Journalists and commentators alike began to question the legitimacy of what had come before — the excellence on the ice, the titles, the records in the lead-up to the Olympics.

At the same time, sections of the media expressed sympathy for Kamila Valieva, portraying her as a victim of a larger system.

That system — the Russian sporting establishment — was placed under intense scrutiny. Already operating under sanctions for prior doping violations, this episode dealt a significant blow to the country’s sporting reputation.

The media storm would continue. For now, there was still a competition to be held. On 15 February 2022, Kamila Valieva returned to the ice to perform In Memoriam once more.

The usually flawless Valieva stepped out of the landing on her opening triple Axel, her hand briefly touching the ice. She seemingly composed herself and completed the rest of the program, with her characteristic elegance, executing the complex choreography and the remaining technical elements smoothly.

However, nothing was the same anymore.

At the end of the program, an NBC commentator remarked, “I can only say… that was the short program of Kamila Valieva.” Valieva was overcome with emotion as she finished. The composure she had held through the performance gave way — she stood in tears. Even when the scores came out — a still significant 82.16, placing her in the lead — she only shrugged her shoulders. It no longer seemed to matter.

In the lead-up to the women’s free skate on 17 February, the media tension did not subside — it escalated. The doping scandal became the central story of the 2022 Winter Olympics, overshadowing all other events and achievements.

The voices questioning the Court of Arbitration for Sport decision to allow Kamila Valieva to compete grew louder. With Valieva still in the lead, the surreal prospect of a medal ceremony not taking place became increasingly real.

Now, back to the ice.

Since 2014, Russia had established an unprecedented dominance in women’s singles figure skating. In that span, only one non-Russian skater had won a gold medal at either the Olympics or the World Championships.

A significant part of this meteoric rise was attributed to Eteri Tutberidze, head coach at the Sambo-70 sports school in Moscow. Under her guidance emerged a succession of champions: Yulia Lipnitskaya (Olympic team gold, 2014), Evgenia Medvedeva (world champion, 2016 and 2017; Olympic silver, 2018), Alina Zagitova (Olympic gold, 2018; world champion, 2019), Anna Shcherbakova (world champion, 2021), Alexandra Trusova (two-time World Junior champion), and Aliona Kostornaia (European champion, 2020).

Kamila Valieva was the latest prodigy — regarded by many as the most complete of them all.

Anna Shcherbakova, Alexandra Trusova, and Valieva represented the Russian Olympic Committee in Beijing and were widely expected to sweep the podium.

Anna Shcherbakova was the quiet constant — winning through consistency and an innate ability to rise under pressure. Alexandra Trusova was the disruptor, pushing the technical boundaries of the sport, the first woman to consistently attempt and land multiple quadruple jumps in a single program. And Kamila Valieva was seen as the synthesis of it all — the balance of technical mastery and artistic expression, the culmination of Eteri Tutberidze’s system.

Going into the free skate, Valieva led with 82.16. Shcherbakova followed closely on 80.20. Kaori Sakamoto, sat in third with 79.84, while Trusova — after a failed triple Axel attempt — was fourth on 74.60, some distance behind.

It is worth noting that typically twenty-four skaters qualify for the free skate. However, with Kamila Valieva’s results under review pending the outcome of the investigation, twenty-five skaters were allowed to compete.

After the first twenty-one had completed their programs, it was time for the final four. Alexandra Trusova was up first. The “Russian Rocket” had five quadruple jumps planned.

She delivered. In Beijing, Trusova became the first woman to land five quadruple jumps in a single program. Her score — 177.13 — remains the highest ever recorded in an Olympic women’s free skate.

And yet, she feared, it would not be enough. As per several reports, Trusova was distraught immediately after the announcement of the scores, even before her major competitors had taken to the ice.

Two of her jumps received negative grades of execution. Her combined total — 251.73 — left the door open. If Valieva, or even Anna Shcherbakova, delivered a clean program, she would be overtaken.

Kaori Sakamoto was up next. She delivered a clean program, marked by her signature speed, precision, and edge quality. However, in an era increasingly defined by technical difficulty, the absence of quadruple jumps limited her scoring potential relative to the Russian skaters. Her free skate score of 153.29 and total of 233.13 placed her in second, behind Alexandra Trusova.

Anna Shcherbakova and Kamila Valieva were still to skate.

Anna Shcherbakova — the reigning world champion — needed a personal best to overtake Alexandra Trusova.

In the lead-up to the Olympics, most experts had predicted gold for Kamila Valieva, with Alexandra Trusova — armed with her barrage of quadruple jumps — seen as the only real challenger. Anna Shcherbakova, by comparison, was often treated as an afterthought.

But when the lights shone brightest, Shcherbakova had a habit of delivering her best. At the Olympics, she delivered the performance of her life. She opened with a quadruple flip–triple toe loop combination, followed by another quadruple flip — executed with control, her movements still aligned seamlessly with the music.

As the program progressed, her confidence grew. The performance expanded with it — each element reinforcing the last, each movement more assured. The transition in the middle — from tenderness to intensity — remains one of the defining moments of the routine.

The second half of the program was memorable not just for its technical content, but for its expression and fluidity. As she completed a flawless skate, Shcherbakova punched the air in joy before embracing Daniil Gleikhengauz, her long-time choreographer. Now came the scores.

175.75 in the free skate, and a total of 255.95- both personal bests. The world champion- Anna Shcherbakova was in the lead.

Kamila Valieva was the final skater to take the ice in the women’s singles event at the 2022 Winter Olympics. She had arrived in Beijing as one of the most admired figures in the sport. Now, her very presence carried a sense of unease — felt by competitors, commentators, and the audience alike.

Compared to In Memoriam, a program that sought to enchant through emotion, Bolero was constructed as a display of technical dominance. It was layered with three quadruple jumps, a triple Axel, and multiple difficult combinations. The layout demanded an athlete at the peak of both physical and mental conditioning. Kamila Valieva appeared physically prepared. Mentally, the strain was unmistakable.

And it showed on the ice.

A slight step-out on the opening quad Salchow was followed by an under-rotation on the triple Axel. The usually reliable quad toe loop was not landed cleanly. Then came the fall — on the triple toe loop in combination. Another fall followed, this time on the second quad toe loop. With the eyes of the world upon her, Kamila Valieva began to unravel.

The “weightlessness” that had once defined Kamila Valieva’s skating was gone. Every movement now seemed an effort. After a few further errors on her remaining jumping passes, the ordeal was finally over. As she finished , she broke down into tears.

As she left the ice, and was met by her coaching staff, Eteri Tutberidze was heard asking a distraught Valieva, “Why did you stop fighting? Explain it to me, why? You let it go after that axel”.

IOC president Thomas Bach later described this reaction as ‘chilling’.

Kamila Valieva appeared visibly shaken. As she sat in the kiss-and-cry area with her coaches, she was sobbing uncontrollably. Even behind the mask — mandated under COVID protocols — the emotion was impossible to conceal.

Then the scores appeared.

141.03 in the free skate. 224.09 overall. Valieva had finished fourth.

There would be a medal ceremony after all.

However, the chaos of the moment seemed to overshadow the results entirely. On one side was Kamila Valieva, still in tears, as members of her team and officials tried to console her. On the other was Alexandra Trusova — furious at the result. She, too, was in tears, repeating, “I hate this sport,” “I will never step on the ice again,” and “Everyone has a gold medal… everyone! Only I don’t.”

And in the midst of it all, sitting quietly in her chair, was the champion, Anna Shcherbakova. She was alone, clutching a teddy bear. There was no one to share the moment with — her coaches and staff were attending to Kamila Valieva and Alexandra Trusova.

In some reports, she was described as the “loneliest” Olympic champion.

The women’s singles competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics was meant to represent the apex of the sport. Through the feats of Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova, figure skating reached a technical pinnacle that may not be scaled for a long time.

And yet, the final would be remembered for something else entirely — controversy, anger, and the breakdown of one of the finest talents the sport had seen in years, Kamila Valieva.

As Chris Schleicher wrote in Slate, “I hope to never see a figure skating event like that again.”

As the figure skating world struggled to come to terms with what had unfolded in Beijing, Eteri Tutberidze and her methods came under intense scrutiny. Once celebrated for producing a succession of champion skaters, she now faced criticism for pushing her athletes to their limits — through demanding training regimes and strict dietary control.

As for Kamila Valieva, her career was shrouded in uncertainty. Her sporting future lay in the hands of the authorities, with the detailed investigation by the Court of Arbitration for Sport still pending.

Then, on 24 February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

For Russian athletes, the landscape of sport changed overnight. On March 1st, 2022 the International Skating Union banned Russian and Belarussian skaters from international competition until further notice.

The world of figure skating had changed.

The echoes from Beijing still lingered.

This is Part I of a two-part series on one of figure skating’s most compelling talents, Kamila Valieva. It traces the events and controversies that unfolded at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. Part II will explore the years that followed — marked by uncertainty, waiting, and an eventual return.