“From my side, I can say that I did not knowingly take doping.” Kamila Valieva in an interview for NHK
Translation of Kamila Valieva’s comments made in an interview for NHK.
source: NHK, posted on Team Tutberidze’s Telegram
In the interview for the Japanese channel NHK, Kamila Valieva talks about doping case, suspension of Russian skaters and plans for the future. Here’s a translation of her comments. The interview was recorded in the fall of 2023. In January, the Court of Arbitration for Sport disqualified Valieva until December 2025 for violating anti-doping rules.
“From my side, I can say that I did not knowingly take doping. After all, we undergo courses with RUSADA, and I tried to follow the rules to the maximum.
I went to the Olympic Games with a mindset that it was a wonderful celebration of sports, that it was the place you had been working towards and dreaming about for so long. I arrived and, unfortunately, received different emotions and a different attitude,” the figure skater said.
About the mistakes in the free program at the Olympics
“I went out for the warm-up and realized that’s it. If I understood that I wasn’t doing salchows, I wasn’t doing sxels, and especially I didn’t do the toe loop… I should have left that toe loop and not tried to continue doing that either double or triple salchow and instead gone on to skate with triple jumps.
But I got scared that the coaches would say, ‘Why didn’t you go for all the jumps?’ Maybe at that moment, I gave up,” said Valieva.
About the suspension of Russian athletes
“We understand that the year before last, we competed everywhere under the Russian flag and heard the anthem of the Russian Federation on the podium. But at the Olympic Games, we competed under a neutral flag. And there are quite mixed feelings, which… I probably find it difficult to answer.
It’s upsetting, but as athletes, we can’t influence the situation that is happening off the ice.”
About plans for the future
“In terms of sports achievements, I will strive to maintain the same level and perform just as well, winning competitions. Of course, I want to achieve and win Olympic gold as well.
I really want to showcase a variety of characters on the ice, so that they are touching, sometimes funny, and more strict. I just want it to be like in the theater.
As a figure skater, someone may say that I’m not very good, but if I feel inside that I can do it and endure it, then I will certainly endure, strive, and work,” said Valieva.
Related topics: Kamila Valieva
Leave a Reply