Exactly two months ago, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) disqualified Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva. How has the life of the champion changed?
Complete bans
The four-year disqualification and cancellation of Valieva’s results, starting from December 25, 2021, was perceived extremely negatively in Russia. In addition to condemning the excessively harsh punishment, radical proposals were also made — not to implement the CAS decision. Can bobsledder Alexander Zubkov, despite the cancellation of his results at the Games in Sochi, be considered an Olympic champion in Russia? In theory, here too no one stopped Valieva from continuing to perform at least in the show — but only if, of course, she did not intend to resume her sports career.
However, the skater obviously has other plans — or she didn’t want to burn all the bridges on the theoretical path to returning to the ice, which could take place no earlier than December 24, 2025. At first, Valieva, as the source reported, interrupted training in Eteri Tutberidze’s group, as this was necessary under the terms of disqualification. And then her name disappeared from the list of participants in the Winter Spartakiad in Magnitogorsk, where the skater qualified based on the results of the Russian Grand Prix stages.
Valieva, while serving her disqualification, is not prohibited from performing in commercial shows that are in no way connected with the state or with organizations that are signatories of the World Anti-Doping Code. However, the athlete has not been on the ice in them for the last two months. The reason was explained to the Olympic champion, and now the producer of ice performances, Tatyana Navka: “We must wait for confirmation from the relevant authorities.” The chief of the “competing company” with Navka, producer Ilya Averbukh, spoke in approximately the same vein.
But information appeared from Valieva herself, that she plans to star in a show in China.
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«Around me there will be amazing dancers, artists, musicians. The show is not only an ice show, only I will be skating on ice. I am very happy, because during this period I missed ice so much , by performances, by fans,” Valieva said on Avtoradio.
br>Ceremony with Putin
As for performances in Russia, the skater, apparently, is playing it safe. It seems that Valieva can perform in the show of the same Navka, whose application for a grant from the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives for 2023-2024 was not approved. But the line here is still too thin: the authorities monitoring compliance with the conditions of disqualification may consider that the performances organized by the wife of the press secretary of the Russian President are still related to the state. And then the term of Kamila’s ban will be extended — and it will be extremely difficult to challenge this, given the attitude towards Russia in international sports structures.
But over the past two months, Valieva has taken part in as many important and interesting events as she probably never had in her entire off-ice life. The most important thing, of course, is that the figure skater watched the opening ceremony of the Games of the Future in Kazan next to Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.
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“I’m glad for the girl and that we have such a president of the country who is capable of such human actions,” noted the Honored Trainer of the USSR Tatyana Tarasova on this occasion.
Kamila also visited the World Youth Festival in Sochi, where, in the company of other figure skaters — Olympic champion Adeline Sotnikova, teammate on the victorious Russian team at the Beijing Olympics Mark Kondratyuk and two-time world champion Evgenia Medvedeva — she met with guests of the event. Valieva also appeared in public on the days of the Russian presidential elections. She herself could not vote due to her minor age, but she came with her mother to the polling station.
The athlete has enough time to entertainment. So, in early March, Kamila was invited to be a judge in the 1/8 finals of the KVN Major League — on this occasion she published photographs on social networks.
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In addition, Valieva said that she is recording a track with performer Mia Boyka, which will be aired on April 26, her birthday, and is also undergoing castings for film and television projects. Finally, the figure skater appeared on the air of the travel show “Route for Two” — she visited Tula, where, together with one of her subscribers on social networks, she walked around the iconic places of the city. True, this filming took place last year, but the fans, judging by the comments, were in any case extremely happy to see their favorite in an unusual and rather cute role.
In general, Valieva, despite to be suspended from sports, does not disappear from the public space. And this is, of course, a positive sign, given the circumstances of the case, in which she could not be found solely guilty, but that is exactly what happened.
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“I remember looking into the eyes of this girl who suffered for nothing, and this decision years later became a second blow to her. We must do everything to support her in every way, use any options,” the two-time Olympic champion in sports emphasized in a conversation with hockey Vyacheslav Fetisov. “She shouldn’t close herself off under any circumstances, she needs to be in public, among people.” She can't make her feel guilty.» br>
Camila will return to the Olympics in Italy?
As for her possible return to sports, this is not as distant a matter as it may seem. The date when Kamila will receive permission to re-enter the competitive ice is just over a year and a half away. And during this period she is not prohibited from training privately. If you wish.
But the figure skater hasn’t said yet whether she has it. So far we are only hearing the opinions of different experts — whether Valieva can return or not. They separate. So, Tatyana Anatolyevna Tarasova believes that if Kamila decides to enter the competition again, then she will be able to do it.
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«And she will be at the same leading level. She is a very strong and very talented girl. We will be waiting for her,» noted the honored coach. And the honorary president of the FFKKR, Valentin Piseev, believes that it will be very difficult for her to do this. “God willing, she is strong, but she has to go through so much now… And her strength, including moral, is also not unlimited,” he noted.
However, the official position of the federation is they really want Valieva to return. It was voiced during the Spartakiad in Magnitogorsk by the General Director of the FFKKR Alexander Kogan. In the same city, fans also had their say, hanging out a banner during the competition with the words “Camila is for love.” The rest will depend only on the skater herself. But everyone who knows Valieva’s character believes: we will see her again. And not only in cinema.
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