Posted on 02/17/2022 3:03:16 PM PST by simpson96
Figure-skating commentators Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir couldn’t hide their relief after suspected doping cheat, Kamila Valieva of the Russian Olympic Committee, stunningly plummeted from gold-medal favorite to fourth place in the women’s free skate event on Thursday.
As the 15-year-old Valieva’s low scores were announced, and it was clear that the International Olympic Committee’s plan to scrap the ceremony and withhold medals if she finished in the top three would not be needed, Weir exclaimed, “Thank God!”
“Thank goodness for all the other medalists to have that moment,” Lipinski said, to which Weir quickly added, “And to have done it cleanly.”
Lipinski and Weir have been outspoken critics of The Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision to allow Valieva to compete after failing a drug test.
Valieva led the competition after the short program and had the highest base score for her scheduled four-minute long program. She could’ve survived a mistake or two, but not as many as she made. The gold and silver were out of reach before her skates left the ice.
“I can’t imagine how tough this has been on Kamila and it makes me angry that the adults weren’t able to make better decisions and guide her and be there for her because she is the one now dealing with the consequences,” Lipinski said. “And she’s just 15 and that’s not fair. With that being said, she should not have been allowed to skate in this Olympic event.”(snip)
“On a human level I can’t imagine going through what she has been through,” Weir said, “but that doesn’t change the fact that she should’ve been nowhere near this competition. Every athlete at this level knows and understands that if you test positive for a banned substance you will not compete.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
“We art more woke than thou”
How noble of the to protect the poor black girl. See how woke we are?
There is no difference between Marijuana and a heart medication, apparently.
As one who always watched the Olympics in the past, glad to say I haven’t watched a second of these Olympics.
It’s strange and disorienting to listen to Johnny Weir speak so passionately against the use of drugs.
The “cocktail” (there were actually 3 drugs found, but only 1 is banned) is believed to increase endurance.
Well, it IS in the context of competition.
She was low bidder for the French judge’s votes
Johnny Weir is an odd duck for sure. But I do like his honest commentary the few times I’ve watched ice skating. He calls it like it is with out flowery jingoistic pandering.
The test was in December. She was not tested before these games.
The Gold and Silver medalist were also Russian. They and the 15 year old train under the same coach. Their doping was better concealed.
“Johnny Weir is an odd duck for sure. But I do like his honest commentary the few times I’ve watched ice skating.”
Likewise - I’ve been pleasantly surprised.
Really, Tara?
Ask Shaun White about that.
I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that most elite athletes use some PED, but it is so easy to avoid detection.
“As one who always watched the Olympics in the past, glad to say I haven’t watched a second of these Olympics”
Ditto, I love the Luge / Bobsledding events, but not gonna do it.
I think Johnny Weir models himself on a matron of some blue-blood country-club, or one's old aunt who is quite proper and dignified, but can be very sarcastic when someone meets her displeasure.
How many goals did she score?
For me, those 2 are unwatchable. I watched ZERO Olympics this year & whenever they have been commentating prior to this Olmpics, they’ve been the reason for changing channels immediately.
What did they have to say about the doping of men pretending to be women so they can compete in the women's events?
Her goal of being the first female figure skater to successfully land a quad at the Olympics. She actually landed two quad variations, but now her achievement is tainted.
Something most Americans don’t understand is the mindset of Russian authority figures.
Note the response of the Russian Olympic Committee president (both unhinged and irrelevant), and even worse, Valieva’s coach after the girl returned to the “kiss and cry room” to await her scores. (Anger, criticism.) I may have to watch tonight - if only to see if Tara Lipinski winds up on that coach in later commentary... Popcorn on the menu tonight. :-)
Then aside from those types there is the Russian silver medalist, Alexandra Trusova:
https://sports.yahoo.com/hate-russian-womens-ice-skater-182910675.html
Drive to win is one thing. I leave that thought at that.
One wonders how much of this malignancy is present in Russia’s upper leadership. Quite a bit, I suspect.
Irrelevant.
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