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The Russian figure skating coach at the heart of the doping scandal that engulfed then–15-year-old Kamila Valieva at the 2022 Winter Games is making her return at Milan Cortina.
Eteri Tutberidze, who coached Valieva when it was revealed in Beijing that she had tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine, returned to the Olympic scene this week for Georgia as European champion Nika Egadze’s coach.
Tutberidze, despite global outcry because Valieva was a minor at the time, was not formally sanctioned or disciplined for the incident. Still, World Anti-Doping Agency president Witold Banka expressed his disappointment that she would be involved in this year’s Games.
“It’s not our decision the coach is here,” Banka said Thursday. “The investigation found no evidence that this particular person was engaged in this doping process, so there’s no legal basis to exclude her from the presence during the Olympic Games.”
“But of course, if you ask me personally about my feelings,” he continued, “I don’t feel comfortable with her presence here in the Olympic Games, for sure.”
Valieva, 19, submitted a sample in December 2021 during the Russian National Championships, which came back positive the following February. The scandal erupted after Valieva helped the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) win gold in the team event after she became the first woman in competition to land a quadruple jump.
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She was able to continue the competition as the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) weighed in. Valieva was given a four-year ban, which expired this past December. She was unable to qualify for Milan Cortina because she could not compete in qualifying events during her ban.
Russian skater Adeliia Petrosian is instead competing for the ROC this year and is a gold medal contender in the women’s individual category. She, too, has been coached by Tutberidze for years.
Tutberidze’s daughter, Diana Davis, is also competing in the Winter Olympics for Georgia in the ice dance category.
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The figure skating competitions begin Friday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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