Winter Olympics 2022
Valieva fails to medal, Shcherbakova takes gold
The 15-year old Russian competitor failed to medal in the single women's figure skating event after a series of stumbles landed her in fourth place.
Kamila Valieva shocked the world by placing fourth after stumbling through the single women's ice skating event on Thursday. She was heavily favored to win the gold, though the medal ceremony may not have gone on and it may have all been discounted had she been charged later for taking illegal substances.
Valieva was recently found to have taken trimetazidine, a drug that can help increase athlete's endurance. She is one of the youngest athletes to test positive for an illegal drug in the Olympics. After much controversy, the 15-year-old was cleared to compete in the event on Thursday. To the surprise of many, she had a series of stumbles, which led her to land in just fourth place.
Fellow ROC skaters, Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova, won the gold and silver, respectively, and Japan's Kaori Sakamoto won the bronze.
Valieva was visibly frustrated, throwing her hands up after ending her routine, and was in tears when her score was revealed.
Because she did not place, there will be no debate about the medal ceremony, and it will go on as planned.