Bernat Armangue/AP Photo
Although Anna Shcherbakova skated away with an Olympic gold medal, she spoke of a blur of emotions after the free skate portion of the women's individual figure skating event.
“It's hard to tell. I have mixed feelings—I was very happy to be in the right time and the right place,“ the 17-year-old said. “This has been what I've been working toward everyday. I still can't comprehend what has happened—on one hand, I feel this emptiness inside.”
Shcherbakova is the reigning world champion and became the first senior woman to land a quad lutz in competition in 2019, but she was not considered the gold-medal favorite in the lead-up to the 2022 Olympics. Her teammate, Kamila Valieva, was widely seen as the skater to beat.
Valieva stumbled multiple times during her free skate program, and the uncharacteristic mistakes landed her in fourth place. The 15-year-old was in first after the short program, but Shcherbakova overtook the top spot when her teammate faltered in the free skate.
Though Valieva helped the Russian Olympic Committee win a gold in the team event, she will head home without an individual medal. She still faces an investigation for a previous positive drug test that may result in the ROC losing its team gold.
Shcherbakova ended with a 255.95 combined score, but she stood alone as ROC teammates and coaches consoled Valieva.
“After I skated, I thought I had skated to my maximum and I skated to my goal,” she later said. “During Kamila's [free skate], I was just thinking the Olympics are done. I saw from her first jump what a burden it was for her—I will tell her how I feel about it personally later.”
When asked if things have been fair to Valieva, Shcherbakova responded, “Sorry, I will not talk about this situation."
