Teenage figure skater Kamila Valieva occupies top spot in the women’s individual event at the Winter Olympics in Beijing as she eyes another gold medal triumph amid a backdrop of ongoing controversy.
The 15-year-old Russian - permitted to continue at the Games after a failed drugs test - could not hold back the tears after an emotional routine in Tuesday’s short programme in which she uncharacteristically stumbled after failing to properly execute a triple axel, having become just the fourth woman ever to land such a move at the Winter Olympics last week.
Despite not being at her best after days of controversy and uncertainty, the purple-clad favourite Valieva still managed an overall score of 82.16, which was enough to keep her in leading position before Thursday’s 25-woman free skate ahead of team-mate Anna Shcherbakova (80.20) and Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto (79.84).
However, whether or not she is permitted to keep any medals won in Beijing remains to be seen and is unlikely to be decided for some time, while there will be no ceremony in the women’s singles competition if Valieva places inside the top three.
Valieva - a reigning European and Russian national champion - helped the Russian Olympic Committee to win gold in the team figure skating competition last week, only for it to subsequently emerge that she had failed a drugs test.
The teenage star produced a positive result for the banned heart drug trimetazidine - commonly used to treat angina - from a test taken on December 25, which was not officially reported until February 8.
On Monday, a Court of Arbitration panel cleared the way for Valieva to compete in the individual programme, although she could yet face sanctions over the positive test, which her team has argued was caused by accidental contamination from her grandfather’s medication.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) have opened investigations into Valieva’s entourage over any potential doping violations.
