Three-time Olympic champion in figure skating and State Duma deputy Irina Rodnina said in an interview with the Championship portal that she does not agree with those who consider figure skater Kamila Valieva the main character of the Beijing Olympics.
According to Rodnina, the Russian skier Alexander Bolshunov is the protagonist of the Games, and Valieva herself definitely did not want the kind of fame she received.
Bolshunov and Yakimushkin were awarded medals at the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games 2022 “The main character, of course, is Bolshunov. The hero is not the one who is talked about more, but the one who achieves the highest results. Call Valieva? Those who call Kamila the main hero of the Russian team at the Olympics are amazing. She is a very bright personality. I would like her to continue to play sports, to show results. What fell on her is a disaster: for her personally, for figure skating and the Olympic team. I would not want to be such a hero of the Olympics, ”said Rodnina.
Bolshunov became a three-time Olympic champion at the Beijing Games, which ended on Sunday. Alexander won gold in skiathlon, relay and marathon. The medal for the marathon was presented to him during the closing ceremony. He also has silver in the individual 15 km race and bronze in the team sprint.
Kamila Valieva won gold as part of the Russian national team in the team tournament, after which she took fourth place in individual competitions, although after the short program she was on the first line.
After the end of the team tournament, it became known that Valieva's doping test, taken back in December, gave a positive result for the presence of the banned substance trimetazidine.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC), the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Skating Union (ISU) have filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), seeking to challenge Valieva's admission to competition. However, the CAS dismissed the complaints and cleared her for further competition.
The IOC announced on 14 February that it would not be holding an awards ceremony for the team tournament.
bbabo.Net