The International Olympic Committee (IOC) president on Friday blasted Russian coaches for their treatment of teenage figure skater Kamila Valieva following an error-filled performance in the women's singles competition.
Valieva, a 15-year-old who entered the night as the gold medal favorite, fell out of medal contention at the Beijing Olympics due to her performance on Thursday. Afterward, her entourage offered "dismissive gestures," IOC President Thomas Bach said.
"I was very, very disturbed yesterday when I watched the competition on TV," Bach said at a press conference. "When I afterward saw how she was received by her closest entourage with such, what appeared to be, a tremendous coldness, it was chilling to see this rather than giving her comfort. Rather than to try and help her. You could feel this chilling atmosphere. This distance."
When Valieva exited the ice, her coach immediately began interrogating her in Russian. The encounter was captured by television cameras.
"Why did you stop fighting?" coach Eteri Tutberidze asked. "Explain it to me, why? You let it go after that axel."
Russia’s deputy prime minister quickly responded to Bach's comments, saying they were "inappropriate and wrong," The New York Times reported.
Bach said he could feel pressure "beyond my imagination" on Valieva to perform well.
"You could, in every movement and in [her] body language, you could feel that this is an immense, immense mental stress and that maybe she would have preferred to leave the ice and to leave this story behind her," Bach said.
Valieva tested positive for a banned heart medication at the Russian championships in December, but the result was not revealed until last week, shortly after she helped to win a team gold medal that is now also in doubt.
She was cleared to compete earlier this week by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which ruled that she had protected status as a minor and would suffer "irreparable harm" if she was not allowed to perform. The court did not rule on the full scope of the case.
The court's decision cast a polarizing shadow over one of the marquee events of the Winter Games.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.