2022 Olympics

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A thread on the new information that has come out about Kamila Valieva:

https://twitter.com/rockerskating/status/1491976679278977024?s=20&t=R5C7uMMUh--nrs92tdQXCQ

I mean... you can't make this stuff up. So, the organization with the jurisdiction to determine whether Kamila could or could not compete was... Russia's anti-doping organization (RUSADA). Russia can't compete as Russia in the Olympics because of their state-sponsored doping! It's honestly laughable.

Thankfully the ITA is appealing the decision but who knows how long it will take. Will she be allowed to compete next week while still under investigation with the possibility of her medal being taken away at a later date? I just got a New York Times notification about this so it has definitely gone mainstream. There's no way she can skate under these circumstances, right?! Can you imagine what that would be like? What a mess.

This is bonkers. According to WADA rules, all medals and titles between the date of test and date of suspension are revoked. RUSADA isn’t denying the validity of the test. How is a DQ of ROC in the team event even still a question? How does RUSADA have any jurisdiction given how often they’ve been caught cheating. Russia isn’t even allowed to compete as Russia because of their doping! Wow, I bet there’s going to be a huge overhaul to the rules next games. Hopefully they’ll actually protect children from being doped and letting all the adults get away with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Snow boarding - well done Mr White. Great job and great career. Fourth place at 35 is phenom.

The Japanese tornado deserved gold though - wow! The Australian dude in second place wasn’t bad either.

It was heart breaking to see so many athletes who worked so hard for years take tumbles when they hit the lips after soaring and spinning 20+ feet in the air.

I was pulling so hard for Ayumu Hirano on that third run! He was robbed on the second run.

Yah we were too even though originally we were pulling for S White and the Aussie. But Ayumu was astonishing - how were those runs even humanly possible? Just WOW!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A thread on the new information that has come out about Kamila Valieva:

https://twitter.com/rockerskating/status/1491976679278977024?s=20&t=R5C7uMMUh--nrs92tdQXCQ

I mean... you can't make this stuff up. So, the organization with the jurisdiction to determine whether Kamila could or could not compete was... Russia's anti-doping organization (RUSADA). Russia can't compete as Russia in the Olympics because of their state-sponsored doping! It's honestly laughable.

Thankfully the ITA is appealing the decision but who knows how long it will take. Will she be allowed to compete next week while still under investigation with the possibility of her medal being taken away at a later date? I just got a New York Times notification about this so it has definitely gone mainstream. There's no way she can skate under these circumstances, right?! Can you imagine what that would be like? What a mess.

This is bonkers. According to WADA rules, all medals and titles between the date of test and date of suspension are revoked. RUSADA isn’t denying the validity of the test. How is a DQ of ROC in the team event even still a question? How does RUSADA have any jurisdiction given how often they’ve been caught cheating. Russia isn’t even allowed to compete as Russia because of their doping! Wow, I bet there’s going to be a huge overhaul to the rules next games. Hopefully they’ll actually protect children from being doped and letting all the adults get away with it.

It’s only still a question because the Olympic “sports court” needs to meet to make a final ruling. The IOC, world anti doping agency and the skater’s union all want her suspended. I can’t imagine them ruling some other way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A thread on the new information that has come out about Kamila Valieva:

https://twitter.com/rockerskating/status/1491976679278977024?s=20&t=R5C7uMMUh--nrs92tdQXCQ

I mean... you can't make this stuff up. So, the organization with the jurisdiction to determine whether Kamila could or could not compete was... Russia's anti-doping organization (RUSADA). Russia can't compete as Russia in the Olympics because of their state-sponsored doping! It's honestly laughable.

Thankfully the ITA is appealing the decision but who knows how long it will take. Will she be allowed to compete next week while still under investigation with the possibility of her medal being taken away at a later date? I just got a New York Times notification about this so it has definitely gone mainstream. There's no way she can skate under these circumstances, right?! Can you imagine what that would be like? What a mess.

This is bonkers. According to WADA rules, all medals and titles between the date of test and date of suspension are revoked. RUSADA isn’t denying the validity of the test. How is a DQ of ROC in the team event even still a question? How does RUSADA have any jurisdiction given how often they’ve been caught cheating. Russia isn’t even allowed to compete as Russia because of their doping! Wow, I bet there’s going to be a huge overhaul to the rules next games. Hopefully they’ll actually protect children from being doped and letting all the adults get away with it.

That’s my biggest worry- that Kamila will take the fall and Eteri and the team doctor can go right along continuing to dope these young girls, just being more careful with the timing (clearly they screwed up if this was a sample taken during Russian nationals). Apparently the doctor has been with the team since 2018- right around the time this crop of girls was coming up. There’s been evidence for a while that the Sambo skaters are overtrained and underweight, so it wouldn’t be surprising they were being doped also.

Clearly the right decision is to suspend Kamila but I feel bad for her- the adults in her life have really let her down by both ruining her skating career and potentially her long term health.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A thread on the new information that has come out about Kamila Valieva:

https://twitter.com/rockerskating/status/1491976679278977024?s=20&t=R5C7uMMUh--nrs92tdQXCQ

I mean... you can't make this stuff up. So, the organization with the jurisdiction to determine whether Kamila could or could not compete was... Russia's anti-doping organization (RUSADA). Russia can't compete as Russia in the Olympics because of their state-sponsored doping! It's honestly laughable.

Thankfully the ITA is appealing the decision but who knows how long it will take. Will she be allowed to compete next week while still under investigation with the possibility of her medal being taken away at a later date? I just got a New York Times notification about this so it has definitely gone mainstream. There's no way she can skate under these circumstances, right?! Can you imagine what that would be like? What a mess.

This is bonkers. According to WADA rules, all medals and titles between the date of test and date of suspension are revoked. RUSADA isn’t denying the validity of the test. How is a DQ of ROC in the team event even still a question? How does RUSADA have any jurisdiction given how often they’ve been caught cheating. Russia isn’t even allowed to compete as Russia because of their doping! Wow, I bet there’s going to be a huge overhaul to the rules next games. Hopefully they’ll actually protect children from being doped and letting all the adults get away with it.

That’s my biggest worry- that Kamila will take the fall and Eteri and the team doctor can go right along continuing to dope these young girls, just being more careful with the timing (clearly they screwed up if this was a sample taken during Russian nationals). Apparently the doctor has been with the team since 2018- right around the time this crop of girls was coming up. There’s been evidence for a while that the Sambo skaters are overtrained and underweight, so it wouldn’t be surprising they were being doped also.

Clearly the right decision is to suspend Kamila but I feel bad for her- the adults in her life have really let her down by both ruining her skating career and potentially her long term health.

I feel really bad for her too, but at this point it’s not about protecting her. All the other figure skaters need to be protected from a system that only allows those who take banned substances to excel to the highest levels.

Sorry, I think the Russians have a glorious figure skating culture and history, and will always be competitive. But this dominance over the last few years of Russian teenagers, c’mon, you had to know there was A LOT of shenanigans going in to suddenly rise to this level, this quickly. It’s not just illegal doping, that’s probably only one part of it. There’s just no way this one country all of a sudden has this glut of generationally talented girls, when all the other ice skating nations- S Korea, US, Canada, etc, just can’t compete. Doesn’t pass the smell test, and hopefully now they have the proof.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A thread on the new information that has come out about Kamila Valieva:

https://twitter.com/rockerskating/status/1491976679278977024?s=20&t=R5C7uMMUh--nrs92tdQXCQ

I mean... you can't make this stuff up. So, the organization with the jurisdiction to determine whether Kamila could or could not compete was... Russia's anti-doping organization (RUSADA). Russia can't compete as Russia in the Olympics because of their state-sponsored doping! It's honestly laughable.

Thankfully the ITA is appealing the decision but who knows how long it will take. Will she be allowed to compete next week while still under investigation with the possibility of her medal being taken away at a later date? I just got a New York Times notification about this so it has definitely gone mainstream. There's no way she can skate under these circumstances, right?! Can you imagine what that would be like? What a mess.

This is bonkers. According to WADA rules, all medals and titles between the date of test and date of suspension are revoked. RUSADA isn’t denying the validity of the test. How is a DQ of ROC in the team event even still a question? How does RUSADA have any jurisdiction given how often they’ve been caught cheating. Russia isn’t even allowed to compete as Russia because of their doping! Wow, I bet there’s going to be a huge overhaul to the rules next games. Hopefully they’ll actually protect children from being doped and letting all the adults get away with it.

That’s my biggest worry- that Kamila will take the fall and Eteri and the team doctor can go right along continuing to dope these young girls, just being more careful with the timing (clearly they screwed up if this was a sample taken during Russian nationals). Apparently the doctor has been with the team since 2018- right around the time this crop of girls was coming up. There’s been evidence for a while that the Sambo skaters are overtrained and underweight, so it wouldn’t be surprising they were being doped also.

Clearly the right decision is to suspend Kamila but I feel bad for her- the adults in her life have really let her down by both ruining her skating career and potentially her long term health.

I feel really bad for her too, but at this point it’s not about protecting her. All the other figure skaters need to be protected from a system that only allows those who take banned substances to excel to the highest levels.

Sorry, I think the Russians have a glorious figure skating culture and history, and will always be competitive. But this dominance over the last few years of Russian teenagers, c’mon, you had to know there was A LOT of shenanigans going in to suddenly rise to this level, this quickly. It’s not just illegal doping, that’s probably only one part of it. There’s just no way this one country all of a sudden has this glut of generationally talented girls, when all the other ice skating nations- S Korea, US, Canada, etc, just can’t compete. Doesn’t pass the smell test, and hopefully now they have the proof.

PP here and I agree- but I guess that goes along with what I was saying that I have doubts whether the responsible adults will face any consequences. If Kamila gets banned but Russia carries on with their antics, then the other skaters aren't getting protected either and we're back for waiting for a screwup/positive test. Would WADA, the IOC, etc. be able to investigate the club further, or would that only come from Russia (which we know would never happen). Like someone should really be taking hair samples from the other skaters.

And its not just one country having this group of generationally talented girls, most of them come from one club in particular.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Figure skater Jason Brown is a beautiful skater. Stick to triples. I’d rather watch a well executed, perfect routine with no wobbles, falls, etc. Tired of all the Quadruple stuff that rarely come off smoothly.

That’s what Stars on Ice is for, but the Olympics is meant to push the limits of what is possible. Faster, higher, stronger. Jason is a great skater but he is not the most artistic. I feel his scores reflect fondness for him, but I would have much rather seen Ilia compete at the Olympics.

+1,000

If anything Jason is underscored. As a former skater I have to say that aside from the jumps what Jason does is harder then what everyone else is doing. No one else has his edge quality or his mastery of the blade. We are just in a world now where jumps are so heavily valued and the sport is off balance.

"Aside from the hardest thing to do in his discipline, which he doesn't do, he does very hard things."

This very much has the feel of, "So, other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?"

This. Whether you like them or not and agree with them or not, the technical standards for being an internationally competitive figure skater exist and are very unlikely to change.

Brown skated well (though I do feel like I’ve seen him do that program better and with more emotion, including at Nationals), but he skated a 2005 program in 2022. He’s very lucky to be even in the top 10, thanks to other skaters’ falls.

PP here - that's kind of the point - what is expected now is so difficult that it's hard to execute with any consistency. You get to a point where it's all a little robotic and not fun to watch.

[Anonymous]

PP here and I agree- but I guess that goes along with what I was saying that I have doubts whether the responsible adults will face any consequences. If Kamila gets banned but Russia carries on with their antics, then the other skaters aren't getting protected either and we're back for waiting for a screwup/positive test. Would WADA, the IOC, etc. be able to investigate the club further, or would that only come from Russia (which we know would never happen). Like someone should really be taking hair samples from the other skaters.

Right now only the RUSADA is investigating her coaching staff, which is meaningless. The IOC press briefing mentioned that they would be looking at her entourage, but I also get the sense that they rather stay out of it. Maybe the US will prosecute her coaching staff, but they may drop it if they get their gold team medal.

[Anonymous]

the post also had an interesting op ed about the stress that pushing for quads is putting on these girls bodies, so that they are messing up their bodies before they even hit adulthood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:the post also had an interesting op ed about the stress that pushing for quads is putting on these girls bodies, so that they are messing up their bodies before they even hit adulthood.

The ROC's system isn't built for longevity. The last olympic champion was 15 when she won and retired around 17-18, and the last silver medalist was 18-19 and is also retired now, too. They don't care, and they are just going to replace them with another young teen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Snow boarding - well done Mr White. Great job and great career. Fourth place at 35 is phenom.

The Japanese tornado deserved gold though - wow! The Australian dude in second place wasn’t bad either.

It was heart breaking to see so many athletes who worked so hard for years take tumbles when they hit the lips after soaring and spinning 20+ feet in the air.

I was pulling so hard for Ayumu Hirano on that third run! He was robbed on the second run.

Yah we were too even though originally we were pulling for S White and the Aussie. But Ayumu was astonishing - how were those runs even humanly possible? Just WOW!

He went so high up in the air. I'm glad he pulled off the third run. I wonder if they will still investigate the judging of his second run.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:the post also had an interesting op ed about the stress that pushing for quads is putting on these girls bodies, so that they are messing up their bodies before they even hit adulthood.

The ROC's system isn't built for longevity. The last olympic champion was 15 when she won and retired around 17-18, and the last silver medalist was 18-19 and is also retired now, too. They don't care, and they are just going to replace them with another young teen.

You say this like Sarah Hughes and Tara Lipinski didn't flee the skating scene as soon as they could.

Longevity in figure skating women is an exception, not the rule.

It's actually not a bad model to work super hard, score big and get out at 16 or so. Look at Zagitova, the last Olympic gold medalist. She is living her best life skating in shows, dabbling in TV and enjoying multiple endorsement contracts. And she's only 19! Set herself up for life, and can go to college or do anything she likes, really, without a grueling training schedule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

PP here and I agree- but I guess that goes along with what I was saying that I have doubts whether the responsible adults will face any consequences. If Kamila gets banned but Russia carries on with their antics, then the other skaters aren't getting protected either and we're back for waiting for a screwup/positive test. Would WADA, the IOC, etc. be able to investigate the club further, or would that only come from Russia (which we know would never happen). Like someone should really be taking hair samples from the other skaters.

And its not just one country having this group of generationally talented girls, most of them come from one club in particular.

I guess you haven't followed skating long enough to remember a glorious run of Russian pairs. Or, much more recently, a glorious run of Japanese women, where it seemed they grasped every medal. Or (an older) tradition of American single women skaters with Olympic gold medals. Or a season of Chinese pairs. These things are cyclical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A thread on the new information that has come out about Kamila Valieva:

https://twitter.com/rockerskating/status/1491976679278977024?s=20&t=R5C7uMMUh--nrs92tdQXCQ

I mean... you can't make this stuff up. So, the organization with the jurisdiction to determine whether Kamila could or could not compete was... Russia's anti-doping organization (RUSADA). Russia can't compete as Russia in the Olympics because of their state-sponsored doping! It's honestly laughable.

Thankfully the ITA is appealing the decision but who knows how long it will take. Will she be allowed to compete next week while still under investigation with the possibility of her medal being taken away at a later date? I just got a New York Times notification about this so it has definitely gone mainstream. There's no way she can skate under these circumstances, right?! Can you imagine what that would be like? What a mess.

This is bonkers. According to WADA rules, all medals and titles between the date of test and date of suspension are revoked. RUSADA isn’t denying the validity of the test. How is a DQ of ROC in the team event even still a question? How does RUSADA have any jurisdiction given how often they’ve been caught cheating. Russia isn’t even allowed to compete as Russia because of their doping! Wow, I bet there’s going to be a huge overhaul to the rules next games. Hopefully they’ll actually protect children from being doped and letting all the adults get away with it.

That’s my biggest worry- that Kamila will take the fall and Eteri and the team doctor can go right along continuing to dope these young girls, just being more careful with the timing (clearly they screwed up if this was a sample taken during Russian nationals). Apparently the doctor has been with the team since 2018- right around the time this crop of girls was coming up. There’s been evidence for a while that the Sambo skaters are overtrained and underweight, so it wouldn’t be surprising they were being doped also.

Clearly the right decision is to suspend Kamila but I feel bad for her- the adults in her life have really let her down by both ruining her skating career and potentially her long term health.

I feel really bad for her too, but at this point it’s not about protecting her. All the other figure skaters need to be protected from a system that only allows those who take banned substances to excel to the highest levels.

Sorry, I think the Russians have a glorious figure skating culture and history, and will always be competitive. But this dominance over the last few years of Russian teenagers, c’mon, you had to know there was A LOT of shenanigans going in to suddenly rise to this level, this quickly. It’s not just illegal doping, that’s probably only one part of it. There’s just no way this one country all of a sudden has this glut of generationally talented girls, when all the other ice skating nations- S Korea, US, Canada, etc, just can’t compete. Doesn’t pass the smell test, and hopefully now they have the proof.

PP here and I agree- but I guess that goes along with what I was saying that I have doubts whether the responsible adults will face any consequences. If Kamila gets banned but Russia carries on with their antics, then the other skaters aren't getting protected either and we're back for waiting for a screwup/positive test. Would WADA, the IOC, etc. be able to investigate the club further, or would that only come from Russia (which we know would never happen). Like someone should really be taking hair samples from the other skaters.

And its not just one country having this group of generationally talented girls, most of them come from one club in particular.

Russia being able to compete at all after what they did in Sochi tells you all you need to know about consequences for doping

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

PP here and I agree- but I guess that goes along with what I was saying that I have doubts whether the responsible adults will face any consequences. If Kamila gets banned but Russia carries on with their antics, then the other skaters aren't getting protected either and we're back for waiting for a screwup/positive test. Would WADA, the IOC, etc. be able to investigate the club further, or would that only come from Russia (which we know would never happen). Like someone should really be taking hair samples from the other skaters.

Right now only the RUSADA is investigating her coaching staff, which is meaningless. The IOC press briefing mentioned that they would be looking at her entourage, but I also get the sense that they rather stay out of it. Maybe the US will prosecute her coaching staff, but they may drop it if they get their gold team medal.

I don't suppose anyone is interested in why the lab took from Dec 25 to Feb 8 to report the results of the test? Like, right after the skate but before the medal ceremony? That's hell of a coincidence. And it really doesn't take THAT long to test a pee jar.