Meet the Olympic Press: Maya Bagriantseva on 2022 Olympic Team Event Medals & Kamila Valieva

[@JoshuaFazeli]

I really appreciate Maya speaking to us so late and in beautiful English. 👏🏼🙏🏻👏🏼

[@TheSkatingLesson]

❤️❤️

[@ArohaStill]

Yes and she is so pretty!

[@MsSkatefan]

She’s a terrific interview every time! I appreciate her insights!

[@StellarReview2010]

It is very interesting that everyone I talk to, including my parents who know very little about figure skating echo many that this is not only about Kamila Valieva but about the adults who are/were supposed to be watching out for her. Thank you Dave and Maya, Christine, Phil and others who are covering this story as we learn more.

[@primalcritters]

Dave IS correct. It's not Kamila we should look at. Of course the Entourage will be protected and Kamila thrown to the wolves. In cases where athletes are disposable I could understand this. They must protect the coaching team to train another champion. In this case though Kamila is irreplaceable. CAS left it up to Russia to investigate the doping of children. Good luck with that. Perhaps removing quads will incentivize no more doping children?

[@C.Nemo969]

what kind of doping😆 your brain is controlled by the CNN, BBC, a political order from the United States and England, the organizer of the IOC provocation, the performer of WADA and its branch in Russia RUSADA, the bastard who received the money is either at the headquarters of Eteri or next to her, as she knows all the information about the athlete and this is not the first doping scam from WADA and yes I am not from Russia and not Russian

[@СветланаЕфремова-ф1н]

No way. Figure skating is a national sport in Russia. Russians are about to set up their own league and part with ISU

[@kuzmenkoanna8626]

Of course she is. Everyone is

[@kristi4113]

If the Russians want to refuse the bronze, they should give it to Canada. The Canadians would gladly take it.

[@mht4908]

I’m curious on why the scores weren’t updated? As in since Kamila’s 2 10s were removed, shouldn’t the 10 go to Sakamoto, 9 goes towards Madeline, 8 for Chen etc?

[@ingai7014]

I think :it should not be even a suggestion:Canada all along deserve Bronze

[@ВладимирЗиняков-с4ц]

На халяву и уксус сладкий.

[@ingai7014]

@@ВладимирЗиняков-с4ц не куй жрать допинг иваны

[@ВладимирЗиняков-с4ц]

@@ingai7014 теперь понятно, давно сбежал безродный с промытыми мозгами.

[@Eeyora1]

Maya to me is like Nicole Wallace on “The View” , I don’t always agree with her but she explains everything so nicely that you understand and respect her point of view.

[@TheSkatingLesson]

❤️❤️

[@youarestronger]

Yes, she really makes you understand the other point of view, even though some of it based in Russian delusions

[@dominiquedominique6462]

And I’m a bit worried that Maya is that “nice girl” having the task to soften up a nasty image of Russia. And it’s dangerous, because this nasty image is nothing but pure truth

[@topicdel]

@Eeyora1 💯

[@Maya_skating]

@@dominiquedominique6462I have to admit: I see it as my mission sometimes - to show that not all Russians are as you see in some offensive comments from Russia. There are lots of clean and extraordinary athletes, normal fans and reasonable journalists. I am not paid to soften a typical image - nothing like that :) I am not even asked to do it. It’s my personal initiative, and I am being widely criticised for in Russia btw. My biggest hope is that Russian sport would change. It’s in my own interest you know ) I see my mission in building that bridge between western and Russian audience. I am sure it is needed

[@Never2Late2Dream]

Maya - you are the best! Please come back to TSL every day! Dave - thank you so much for all of your coverage and opinions concerning this issue. And finally, I am with Maya’s prayer: may all skaters compete cleanly and beautifully!

[@ArohaStill]

Yes, thank you both for all the hard work. Please sleep and eat well too!

[@ddjr6673]

Really appreciate Maya and wow - that decision - how to please NO ONE!

[@TheSkatingLesson]

100%

[@wedamon]

Maya is such a treasure! She walks the line perfectly of being supportive of the athletes while also being analytical and fair. Love her! ❤❤

[@TheSkatingLesson]

❤️❤️

[@ЗульфираРомазанова]

Глупая ваша мая

[@zackwilson8701]

Dave, your interviewing skills are so impressive! You asked such powerful questions here, but the flow of the conversation always felt natural. I like this specific niche you've carved out for yourself, where you're in conversation with reporters, the fandom, with people who are prominent insiders in the skating world, but you stand just enough on the outside to be able to speak candidly. Thanks for helping us all to connect the dots. Now, if only skating officials would do the same! It's crazy to treat Valieva's doping as an individual ethics violation when its abundantly clear that the cheating and abuse are systemic.

[@MsSkatefan]

I second this. Bravo, Dave. Your shows give my sister & I hours of enjoyment!

[@ЛюбаЛюба-о2м]

Indeed, in American sports, apparently everyone is always on heavy doping! And this system has long been clearly developed for American athletes! The Williams brothers and Simone Biles won't let me lie!!!

[@MarshaNovak]

Great interview-Dave the amount of great content you are putting out is amazing

[@MsSkatefan]

Yes!! When do you sleep??

[@AuroraR]

My favorite part is Maya gushing about Madison Hubble. 😊

[@TheSkatingLesson]

❤️❤️❤️

[@JoshuaFazeli]

Really have to say that the ISU is just garbage 🤮 for not being able to do the simplest of their jobs and follow their own rules in this ruling. The ISU is irrelevant even more than in 2002 and it must be investigated (and in my opinion, DISMANTLED) for its dereliction of upholding the integrity of sport in figure skating. We knew this in the 90’s for the block judging, then in 2002 for the pairs scandal, and now for the doping scandal of Beijing 2022. Athletes who follow the rules of clean sport need to be protected by this ineffective and dangerous body with officials who need to be scrutinized and fired.

[@Patricia599]

I agree with the description that they are now a dangerous body of officials that need to be removed and something new in its place.

[@virginiana3783]

@@Patricia599 Given that the ISU is dominated by speed skating, the most logical solution is for all the national skating federations to withdraw from the ISU and form a separate international figure skating federation. It will take time to pressure the IOC to recognize the new federation, but it's clearly necessary for the integrity and health of figure skating long-term.

[@rebekahquinley8093]

Thank you Maya. I really appreciate your insights into this situation.

[@TheSkatingLesson]

❤️❤️

[@joannm.1756]

Love, love, love Maya. Keep having her on your show!

[@youarestronger]

Freaking Eteri can coach but this girl is banned from everything. I hope she flees and spills the beans.

[@mr.balloffur]

I'm confused, even if they took her out of the Russian team score, the Russians scored enough to be in fourth place. So whether Canada fought or not, this is a simple math problem in the ISU/IOC is getting it wrong. Canada should have been awarded extra points putting them in third place.

[@TheSkatingLesson]

They didn’t award the skaters more points. They cleared out her results and kept the second place skater at 9 points instead of bumping them up to 10.

[@keithh2028]

@@TheSkatingLesson But doesn't that mean that the 2nd place skater technically won the event since the 1st place skater was disqualified? All those behind the disqualified skater should've been awarded the points for the placements they technically earned.

[@JoshuaFazeli]

@@keithh2028That is the technical rule from the ISU but the issue is that the rule is not clarified for the team event but Travis Tygart has said that since it is not clarified to the team event then the rules from the individual events should be enforced. Total Russian manipulation at this point.

[@ingai7014]

Exactly how it would be -by one point :Canada would be a head

[@ЛюбаЛюба-о2м]

Canadian figure skaters should not have been lazy, but better prepared for the Olympics! If, of course, they wanted to win at least something 😅 That’s how strong the Russian skaters were on the team, if even with a deduction of 20 points they claim bronze! It's a shame for the Canadian team that they are so unprepared and weak, and I think even lazy 😢

[@barbarastansbury9670]

The complete lack of accountability is mind boggling, but not surprising. Maya is an absolute goddess!!! We love you. Thank you, Dave. I love your natural relationship. Maya, I want everything to happen to have you back!

[@sofya-og2df]

So far, Russia has had the stupidest strategy. After the Olympics, they should have called a press conference where Kamila would have apologised, shown some remorse, and laid low after that. Instead, they treated her as a national hero and kept bashing ISU and CAS and calling them names. And now they're wondering why Kamila got the maximum punishment.

[@JoshuaFazeli]

We have to see this through the lense of the war with Ukraine. Keep in mind multiple Olympic and prominent Russian figure skaters were summoned to rally for their support for the “Z” Russian nationalist war rally with Putin present. Sport in Russia is interwoven in its nationalist greatness. Whether these athletes who are state funded agree with what they are attending to, that’s another conversation. My father, who is Iranian, had to adhere to strict nationalist views when playing football for Iran in the 1970’s. That’s why he left Iran for the US.

[@d.n.8919]

I honestly think the courts felt insulted by the story about “grandfather’s water”. I mean, it was a ridiculous story. They could have had Kamila tell them so many other stories that would be more convincing.

[@dariakukhar1595]

I can give you multiple reasons why many people all over the world are genuinely surprised by such a harsh and I believe, very biased punishment. 1)She was a protected person at the time of the probe, just 15! Deserved better handling of the whole process, starting with non disclosure of her name in such ugly way 2)She is one of the most talented world’s young talents, which brought FS to a new level and would have continued unless this saga unfolded. She didn’t need any doping at that time to win or outperform even her closest competitors in Russia, which was the event the prove was taken. 3)The doping was found in micro doze, which suggested that it was taken either by accident, unintentionally on her end (for instance, within family cooking) or it was put by someone intentionally (competition) in such minor dosage to be disguised yet traceable 4) The last precedent with this banned substance was in 2014, where Chinese swimmer Sun was caught using the same substance and he was sentenced to just 3 months! BTW, he was caught again in 2020, sentenced to 8 years, but the team contested on the subject of the biased judge to Chinese nationals and he got it reduced to 4 years, just like Kami, but he is 32 years old, has a history of doping and he clearly would have gain advantage by using it, while in Kami’s case it’s not even proved that such micro dose could have benefitted her in any way! Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova was sentenced to just 16 months! All these athletes could continue their career, but in Kami’s case it’s quite questionable for now 4) She was tested many many times before that day, and after, including right before the Olympics, and was was always clean, which to me indicates that it was either an accident or specially designed just that time to target her right before OG. 5) Kami was genuinely surprised and shocked to hear about the dirty probe. Jenya Medvedeva confirmed this as she was with her at that time and coming back on the plane, Kami was absolutely crushed and destroyed by the whole drama. Jenya said that nobody who was guilty in taking the substance, would have acted in such fashion. She 100% believes she was innocent! 6) Lastly, the way the whole drama was approached by the ISU, WADA and press at the OG was totally inappropriate, poor 15 year old Kami was attacked and bullied by the press, officials during OG, the super late arrival of the protocol from Sweden and declaring results right after her victory in the ROC’s team looked very suspicious. She could not compete at her best in her own skating and came only 4th, where she was always favored to win these games! Lastly, Kami’s career and future is effectively destroyed by the 4 year sentence, there is no way she can compete in the next Olympics with such a harsh timeline, she can’t even practice skating with her coach team and even banned from public skating rings, she is deprived of all her medals, winnings and future earnings. She will be banned even from the shows with state funding. Mind you, she is only 17, lives alone with her mother, who invested all her life in Kami and poor girl is heartbroken, destroyed morally and lost probably faith in mankind! If she survives this, it will be a miracle!

[@ВладимирЗиняков-с4ц]

Она и есть национальный герой. Вам этого не понять.

[@christinethorp3684]

@@dariakukhar1595 "Poor Kami" must certainly be a millionaire from all the attention she's received in Russia. She's a megastar and a national hero. And the fact that she had such a small amount of the drug in her system is even more damning than if she had had a larger amount. I'm pretty sure it was Dave who explained that a small dose likely indicates a measurement error by whoever was giving her the drug; it hadn't had time to clear her system completely before the drug test. Her team's obsession with weighing their athletes is indicative of some kind of chemistry experiment being done with their bodies.

[@30juneJPN]

Usain Bolt got stripped of his 2008 gold medal for the 4x100m relay because a team member was doping. I know this is a different sport and system but an average spectator, I think, would assume that the same standard would apply for the “Team” Event. That’s why I’m scratching my head over this decision. Maya did bring up an interesting point about the idea of letting the other Team ROC skaters keep their bronze medal. In the grand scheme of things, it does seem in line with the narrative that individual athletes should not be punished for the actions of those around or above them. Honestly, I’m still debating myself over athletes participating at the Olympics for their country’s actions outside of the stadium, but I’m not so sure about sports teams. Athletes and their entourage have the responsibility to look into how their actions affect other team members. That’s a fundamental rule of sport, imo. Edit: I saw the video in which Christine and Phil specifically discuss the rule that’s placed in figure skating. While I’m not sure if I agree with the rule overall, I stand corrected in that regard. But then there’s the other discussion about how Canada should be in third if the recalculation is done the way the rules are stated, so in terms of ROC getting Bronze, I still stand by my questioning of that result.

[@Brmsg]

You are not correct, in skating every participant get their own points and then this point combined and place them on what ever category it falls . Russian got 26 points without Kamila. Canada got only 25 . Here is your calculations. In running competition no pinta granted for each runner.

[@alexac3098]

Maya is my favorite guest hands down. Thank you for having her on and I hope to see her more often!

[@Kat-M772]

Russia will never admit to doing anything wrong.

[@ЛюбаЛюба-о2м]

When did the United States admit its mistakes?)))

[@Kat-M772]

@@ЛюбаЛюба-о2м Lance Armstrong

[@Kat-M772]

@@ЛюбаЛюба-о2м United States has had eight Olympic medals stripped for doping violations. In all cases, the US government or the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) had nothing to do with it, and sanctioned athletes acted on their own.

[@ingai7014]

Why is she lying ?Peskov already made statement about :not accepting valieva disqualification and saying further :ruzzia will always see her as their Olympic champion

[@dkadkins6545]

Good point, David, Canada did not fight for a medal. That's the first explanation that has made sense.

[@eileencervi9986]

The question is why did SC not fight?

[@dkadkins6545]

@@eileencervi9986 I agree. I thought it was a miscarriage of justice when I heard they weren't giving the bronze to Canada, but now I want to know why Skate Canada failed their athletes so spectacularly. (I'm not Canadian, so I can't imagine how betrayed they feel.)

[@MarliseMachado]

I love Maya. Please keep bringing her as often as possible 🙏

[@TheSkatingLesson]

❤️❤️

[@MsSkatefan]

She is great!

[@zozaazz8044]

Much respect for Maya that she continues to show up and express info and her point of view, to foster the discussion.

[@TheSkatingLesson]

💯

[@natesanti]

Love the sweater Dave, one of your best ones so far.

[@zozaazz8044]

Regarding Evgenia and Yuzy: after the ice show with Danya Milohin (the blond tik tok star), there was an interview of them both. The interviewer asked Zenya about her boyfriends/breakups and she told the story of how she was dumped very abruptly. Interviewer tried to understand who it was, Zhenya avoided but Danya in the background showed narrow eyes, as to indicate that the guy was asian. Then the super harsh yet sometimes useful for info Elena Rodina said the of course we all know that Zhenyas boyfriend was Yuzy and also referred to this interview where Danya pointed to it. So there ya go :)

[@tweetiepie2023]

Legal teams hate implausible excuses and people who dont seem repentant. They get the book thrown at them to make them take the proceedings more seriously.

[@keithh2028]

Eteri and her entire team really should be banned by the ISU. How likely is it that a 15-year-old child would knowingly take a banned substance to boost performance? Any skater that continues to be coached by Eteri, and any event Eteri is allowed to be present at, one could and should assume that cheating of some sort has occurred. Eteri is a disgrace to figure skating.

[@annabondaruk4583]

It could be that somebody deliberately added drugs into her water or food. Nothing was proved, no clear answers as a result of investigation.

[@СветланаЕфремова-ф1н]

Your opinion. In mine she 's the First Lady of FS

[@ЛюбаЛюба-о2м]

Eteri and her students are the best in the world of figure skating. No matter how bitter this may make you, it is so!

[@hannahdeclerck6825]

I love Maya, she always brings such an interesting view.

[@TheSkatingLesson]

[@ArohaStill]

She tries to make us understand the plight of some of the athletes in Russia and putting a positive spin on things for Russia but she also keeps it real...like why is nobody else being investigated and the awarding of the bronze medal was a surprise ie. bullshit while not undermining the Russian skaters. I cannot imagine how tricky it must be to report on such things objectively and without making Putin's pals angry

[@user-cv4nk4tr3b]

As a Canadian, fighting for a bronze when only Madi Schizas really had a standout performance, and on the other side is a 15 year old and a whole mess - I just think that would come accross as tasteless here in the moment. The correct polite thing was to let it play out legally, professionally, and ideally somewhat privately for Kami. I think we just trusted that everything would work out fairly without us adding drama. Not throwing the book at a single child and giving the rest of Russia, coaches, doctors and all, a free pass.

[@mht4908]

You have a good point here. But had they rearranged the scores properly it would’ve been the Canadians who clearly get the bronze. All love from Australia

[@NG-ue4th]

Understandable...but then this ruling would set a precedent for all of isu's future cases which could be potential disastrous in the future, also according to the skate canada statement they basically didn't follow theor own rules in the awarding of the medals...if they got away with this they're only gonna get more egregious in the future...they need to learn that everyone is watching and people aren't idiots, they know what they're doing. Anyways Russia's gonna appeal so it's gonna get dragged anyways

[@sopranomegs]

Exactly. I think we (as Canadians) just expected things to work out the fair way in the end. Personally, I had a strong feeling we would still end up in 4th so, sadly, I am not surprised at this outcome.

[@ariannepine3157]

Just a thought about why Kamila was chosen over Anna and Sasha for the team event - if the decision was made by Eteri or if she had significant sway in it, it's because she was intent on making everything possible for DIANA to get an Olympic medal. Rusfed knows damn well any of the girls could earn one on their own merits and that Diana/Gleb couldn't. Their only chance would be to be part of a strong team (and the rest of the ROC team damn were) (even though I prefer other athletes from the team over the ones on the TE).

[@ЛюбаЛюба-о2м]

The Russian team was much stronger than all other teams. And therefore, even if one participant loses points, they will receive bronze. That's how strong the Russian team was. And this is a reproach for the USA and Canada

[@virginiana3783]

Dave, you didn't address the specific rule that the ISU is ignoring: that when a skater is DQ'd, all those who placed below him/her/them move up one place. If the points are calculated that way, Canada outranks Russia. Isn't that the basis for any Canadian protest? "Hey ISU, read your own damn rulebook!"

[@TheSkatingLesson]

I just recorded a show with Christine and Phil where we go into the math.

[@virginiana3783]

@@TheSkatingLesson Thank you! Can't wait to listen.

[@Dnest10]

❤❤❤thanks Dave! Working and watching all of these vids 🎉🎉🎉 get in here maya! lol

[@TheSkatingLesson]

Enjoy!

[@Dnest10]

Always! You are doing the lords work for us 😂

[@primalcritters]

Dave is a Russian inspired Machine to produce these videos. He's a gift to us

[@veragorchenina5123]

An invitation to an interview Evgeniy Medvedeva, she is a former student of Tutberidze.Medvedeva trained in Canada

[@dominiquedominique6462]

Dave and Marya - how about the possibility that ISU simply made a mistake with that bronze? It honestly looks like that.... Well, I guess the nearest days will show.

[@primalcritters]

I counted the points myself. If you completely remove Kamila's scores, Russia still beats Canada. The only way Canada can beat Russia is not only if they removed Kamila's score, but also if they upgrade CA score. To me that seems illogical. It's already a huge blow to a nation to lose all the points of a skater. The rules are different for team events. Pretty crazy to think that Russia still got the bronze even without a female skater for both short and free skate. Let's be honest, if Sasha or Anna had skated, they would have still gotten the Gold. I think they knew this would happen and that's why they are not allowing Russia in team events in the next Olympics so that they could say look, Russia got the gold but remove their points to get bronze. But to appease people they're going to abstain from team events in 2024.

[@Edward-W]

This has been coming for 2 years. They've had all the time in the world to carefully consider every possibility of the verdict and redistribution of medals and awards. It's absolutely not a mistake. It was clear that Russia would throw a hissy fit if the results were changed and because ISU still wants to please them, they decided not to rescore the women in the team event, which would have knocked the Russians completely off the podium. Instead they only took Kamila's points away so that as a compromise the dopers could at least have bronze as a consolation prize. But ofcourse the arrogant pious bastards still got angry while getting medals that Canada obviously deserved more

[@LapsangMao]

@@primalcritters Well, based on the rules for the team event, they are awarded points based on ranking. In this case, Canada would be awarded a point each in SP and LP for the women and that would put them into bronze position.

[@Edward-W]

​@@primalcrittersYou missed the most crucial part of the necessary analysis. Removing Kamila's scores *as if she never performed* leaves 10 points for the highest scoring woman to win in SP and FP. So with the placement of the remaining women Japan gets 10+10, Canada gets 9+9, USA gets 7+8, meaning USA, Japan and Canada all get +2 to their total scores: 67, 65, 55. Canada's 55 would be higher than ROC's 54. That means Canada gets the bronze. This is how the rescoring is supposed to be done, but ISU sidestepped it because they still want to lick the bloody bottoms of Russia's boots to leave them with an undeserved bronze.

[@norton6654]

@@primalcritters If the ISU follows its own rules, it has the wrong bronze medalist. It should be Canada not Russia. Rule 353(4)(a): “Competitors having finished the competition and who initially placed lower than the disqualified Competitor(s) will move up accordingly in their placement(s).”

[@akotselidis]

One fantastic thing that has come out of this WHOLE thing, and something I enjoy that ALL viewpoints agree upon, is that Kamila Valieva was 100% a minor when everything occurred, and whilst we all have anger regarding the situation - it’s NOT direction towards her and instead towards the Adults who failed her. We must protect minors in sports!

[@ЛюбаЛюба-о2м]

How do you want to protect the minor? Disqualify for four years? This is absurd! She was a fifteen-year-old child then, and she is still a child who was torn away from her favorite sport! Those who gave her a four year ban should be ashamed!😢

[@Yurito12]

YULIA FOR WEIGHT LOSS TIPS 😭😭😭 NO WAY THIS CANT BE REAL

[@kfo2520]

Yess, love hearing Maya talk about Madi Hubbell. I miss her so much!

[@TheSkatingLesson]

[@lisa-lisa-lisa]

nice of Maya to come back so soon

[@sleuththewild]

Thank you, Maya! It's refreshing to hear your perspective.

[@pg5470]

Maya is everything! ❤

[@TheSkatingLesson]

❤️❤️❤️

[@elainetyger]

Love the shirt showing solidarity with Canada

[@primalcritters]

To the commentors that have asserted this....People need to stop pretending that Eteri "made" Kamila and that she was only magnificent because of her. That is categorically untrue. Kamila was a prodigy already and we have video evidence to show this from 6 years onwards. Don't get it twisted, Kamila Made Eteri look good. Like Kosternia, Kamila had that extra special something and then some. Only difference is that Kamila is even more stunning than Kosternia (as much as I love her) yet people support Aliona bc she left Eteri, while Kamila stayed and probably feels like she doesn't have a choice. It would be magnificent if her appeal is reduced to 2 years and if she switched to Brian Orser. That would be amazing if Kamila could still skate for Russia but with a different coach. Of course it will never happen

[@TheSkatingLesson]

I don’t remember discussing that with Maya today.

[@primalcritters]

​@@TheSkatingLessonNo, not you Dave. My apologies for any misunderstanding. A few commentors have said this in other videos on this subject covered on this channel.

[@Jeremy-wp4yh]

​@@primalcrittersKamilla already turned down Brian orser. Also I think it's very late to change technique. But most importantly, she will be crucified if she left eteri.

[@primalcritters]

​​​@@Jeremy-wp4yhyes I acknowledge this. I was just saying what a dream it would be. Impossible though. Just a shame if she was born in a different country, none of this would be happening. I love Russia I hate to say she should have switched coaches long ago, but it's the truth. I do believe she was intentionally doped but I don't think she knew it. She's a good pupil of the state that does as told

[@primalcritters]

​@@Jeremy-wp4yhbtw, you couldn't be more right about Sasha's boyfriend. I can't believe he won the championship his skating is a complete snooze to me. I thought his program the free skate was a joke. No artistry no emotions evoked, nothing

[@amethyst5512]

If the Russians don’t want the bronze, just give it to the Canadians & be done with it.

[@tweetiepie2023]

Eteri s legal team maybe told her to say nothing.

[@vistaprime]

Good she should keep her mouth shut.

[@kristi4113]

@@vistaprimeWe know she won’t, though.

[@RED-cy7ig]

I am not surprised that Russia was given the bronze. Their appeal is not a surprise either.

[@NG-ue4th]

OK so I've seen a few people in the comment wondering about the harshness of Kamila's punishment and so here's my take on it (and I'm neither American nor Russian): 1) The whole Kamila situation didn't happen I a vacuum, she was representing a country that wasn't allowed their flag had to compete under the 'roc' name because of a literal state sponsored doping program. The authorities aren't stupid, they knew what the real implications of Kami's positive doping test was. 2) Judges are people as well. You keep throwing around nonsensical half hearted tales of grandpa's water and confectionery, its probably gonna come off as very insulting to the jury, an offense to their intelligence and the job that they're trying to do. 3) People keep throwing around the Swedish lab test results thing but forget to mention that the reason it took so long to process is that rusfed didn't bother to mark it as a 'priority sample' as they should have considering she was ergo the delay. 4) Finally, all the deliberate delays that rusfed continued to do, probably came off as very offputting to everyone involved and likely gave the impression that the roc was deliberately making a mockery of the system, so there was probably more of a pressure there to come down hard. You can't go around refusing to cooperate with agencies and finally doing so in such an lazy manner and expect to not see their frustration reflected in the outcomes...That can arguably be seen as a kind of obstruction of justice. Ultimately, I think RusFed kinda played themselves here in the sentencing. At some point, too much cunning can work against you. They already screwed Kamila over, thanks to Dr. Shvetsky, and then basically screwed her over some more through their handling of the situation from the start, making her walk through the mixed media zones alone, basically throwing her to the wolves just to make some kinda political statement and then providing her with the shoddiest defense imaginable.

[@ЛюбаЛюба-о2м]

Are you from Ukraine ???😅

[@amethyst5512]

If the ISU had just done the right thing, this would likely be officially over.

[@ЛюдмилаАметаева]

Запомните её такой смелой, отважной, уже взрослой, красивой талатливой,которая смотрит вам прямо в глаза! Те кто принял такое решение может посмотреть ей в глаза не чувствуя вины?

[@sophiajohnson5501]

If anyone can make a comeback for 2026 Olympics it’s Kamila Valieva. God I hope she fights for her talent. Also, WHY is not a single person holding her team responsible for the medication? I do not believe Valieva chose to dope. Maybe I’m naive… my heart goes out to ALL of the athletes impacted by this. Dave & Maya, Thankyou for covering this…all my love! ❤

[@elizabethburrell4756]

Her technique won't work on a mature body. It is starting to fail her now.

[@sophiajohnson5501]

@@elizabethburrell4756 very fair point. No denying that she is going through puberty. I choose to have hope that she will put her head down and work, grind, & work some more. I’m going to choose to believe in her. 🫶🏼

[@sophiajohnson5501]

I can’t tell if my reply posted, apologies if it shows up twice. I agree with you, there is no denying your point! She is going through major puberty. I am choosing to believe in her. I choose to believe she will put her head down ride, grind, and ride some more. I know this may not happen, but until then I’m going to believe in the girl that made me fall in love with figure skating.

[@kuzmenkoanna8626]

I think her biggest problem will be the competition within Russia

[@ЛюбаЛюба-о2м]

How I love Kamila Valieva ❤ her beauty of skating and body on ice delights me! The Almighty protect this girl from the evil of this world and give her the opportunity to do what she loves, because she loves figure skating so much. And it was cruel for WADA ISU MOK CAS to punish her for 4 years, it’s very cruel and unforgivable!

[@rdemille2297]

Tat has become nothing more than a propoganda mouthpiece--I have given up that she will ever demand truth from her sport.

[@colleensikorski8675]

We love Maya!!

[@TheSkatingLesson]

[@janets3094]

Doesn’t Russia’s invasion and ongoing war in Ukraine affect their athletes’ participation in the Olympics? People are talking as if it doesn’t.

[@d.n.8919]

There are talks about having Russians compete as neutral athletes under strict rules.

[@TheEmmaSmith]

Technically it isn't a war. Check the Hague convention of 1905.

[@СветланаЕфремова-ф1н]

​@@d.n.8919Russians don' t want to, enough is enough

[@ЛюбаЛюба-о2м]

Why don’t they stop Israeli athletes, since Israel committed genocide in Palestine??

[@lisalockwood2296]

Not at all surprised Russia is appealing. They probably feel about the same way about a bronze medal as Trusova did about a silver medal.

[@TheSkatingLesson]

💯

[@primalcritters]

I also wonder if the intriguing information is that the Russian government instructed Kamila that she must take the fall for it and admit "responsibility" so that they can at least retain the Olympic bronze and or return to international competition ASAP. We all know that Kamila was walking the streets of downtown Moscow looking for and angina medication on😅

[@ЛюбаЛюба-о2м]

Why are you telling lies? This is undignified!

[@ArohaStill]

Eteri gave all that Kamila is pure and innocent stuff during the Olympics and nobody believed anything she had to say then..

[@TheEmmaSmith]

Got any proof for saying that? Can you share please?

[@ArohaStill]

​@@TheEmmaSmithwhy don't you actually look up her statement during the Olympics instead of asking people for proof and being so lazy and accusatory

[@TheEmmaSmith]

@@ArohaStill so I thought, you got nothing. Thanks.

[@ЛюбаЛюба-о2м]

But the tests at the Olympics were clean and this is absolutely true! So Eteri was right when she said that they were clean!

[@ArohaStill]

I was waiting for this since the middle of last night!!! I was hoping things would have been semi-concluded with the team event side of things and of course agree there needs to be an investigation into the federation, the doctor and Eteri and her team. I really hope one of the girls defects and spills it all some day. As for Kamila, I feel sorry for her and the position they put her in but at the same time, I have to agree with the ban. She has no ban for 2 years and needed a legitimate ban to send the message that despite protected status, you cannot compete while doping and you cannot make a mockery of the arbitration with telling lies about your grandfather. It's not her fault but it's just so pathetic that they shamelessly keep appealing what is obvious cheating. Like the Cold War, nobody gives a shit about your medal count or whether a winner is from Russia, the US, Japan, China as long as everyone is clean and competitive. People like good competition, it is what sells a sport. And for the life of me, all this state money and all this effort put into drugging young girls an d an entire time. Why not just put that time, money and energy into training your athletes well. The pairs tradition and Kolyada and Kostornaia tell you that there are skilled teachers and skilled skaters that could do well on their own. Why not support them with clean training, good choreography and psychological support instead of wasting all these resources into doping and then spending a small fortune on legal fees etc afterwards, while ruining people's health and livelihoods. It's just so irrational and pitiful.

[@ВладимирЗиняков-с4ц]

С головой не дружишь. Какой допинг. На Олимпиаде взяли пробу, она была чистой. Вспомните Немова, Авериных Израильтянка потеря предмета. Эстафета потеря палочки. И много другое. Сила в правде.

[@ЛюбаЛюба-о2м]

WADA ISU IOC looked pathetic when they gave a 4-year ban to a minor athlete. This is truly a shame and disgrace and looks so disgusting and cunning!

[@flywings111]

Medvedeva is an attention seeker. She had a crush on Hanyu because he was friendly to her - and other Russian girls - at galas around 2016-2017 and she completely misunderstood it. The naive girl even liked some shipping posts of the two on instagram...And then when she went to train at TCC she probably spread rumours about the two of them that weren't true at all. After that Hanyu tried to avoid her publicly as much as he could.

[@elena_elenaG]

Maya, Dave probably meant the “Last axel” movie, no?

[@topicdel]

lol 30:02 was such a cute interaction haha

[@dtdurr]

Maya is always a delight.

[@matthewhines9787]

Every time I see Maya appear on screen, I get chills because she is so freaking beautiful. The casual flawlessness of her skin and bone structure is a testament to the strength and grace of millennia of Eurasian people flourishing on the steppes.

[@tweetiepie2023]

Maybe Camila really doesn't know how the drugs got in their sample..I think the judges ISU etc need to do a better investigation so justice can be done. Was it the coaches, was it a USA sabotage.. we dont know but I am pretty sure it wasnt grandpasmeds.

[@mai6018]

She already had the opportunity to provide an excuse and went with “grandpas drinking glass.” Her country has awarded her well for sticking to the story.

[@cecile5090]

You’re saying the USA possibly tainted her specimen so she’d have a positive result? That’s bull💩and you know it! The specimen was taken in Russia so how would an American get to it? You’ve seen too many spy movies!🙄😖

[@primalcritters]

@@mai6018 let's be honest, the truth is her coaching team went to her to give her some "nutritional supplement" (this is very common in sports because a lot of athletes will take supplements, and especially in Russia where they control what they eat & drink) and laced it w/ the medication. Kamila did not know. When it came out, she was confused and when she learned the truth that her team did this to her, she could not speak up and say the truth because she would be crucified, discredited, possibly even "disappeared" by the Russian government as Eteri has WAY more power/influence than Kamila. So she was probably advised by her team to say it was contamination through her grandfather since he was on the same medication already. Considering Eteri's power, they didn't care if it made Kamila look like she lacked credibility because it was better to throw her to the wolves then have Eteri investigated or banned from coaching. So do you see now? They had to come up with the bs story. Frankly, I don't think Kamila knew at all until after the fact. I have known girls that have trained in ballet and figure skating in russia. You are told when to eat, drink, sleep, breathe basically. Their training is militaristic.

[@amethyst5512]

I think the fact that she had two still legal heart medications also in her system makes it pretty obvious that it was given to her by the doctor.

[@primalcritters]

@@mai6018 please know, to anyone that suggests that Kamila should have spoken up and said that her coaches did this to her, her life would be at risk... literally. Even if they didn't kill her, they would absolutely destroy her whole life. Remember Russia invented the KGB. Kamila was put in an impossible decision by her coaches. That is cruel on so many levels and I'm sure she feels extreme resentment even if she does not openly display it

[@GS-rw5li]

10:16 “members of our gaslighting committee “- bravo, Dave!

[@TheSkatingLesson]

❤️❤️

[@Svetonosets]

Dave loves Maya because she says what he and all Americans want to hear about Russians.

[@TheSkatingLesson]

Thanks for watching

[@Calidastas]

One thing I know Kamila is not is a protected person.

[@ЛюбаЛюба-о2м]

All of Kamila's rights, as a protected person, were grossly violated!

[@LimonMitZukerki]

Medvedeva has hinted several times that she and Yuzu were dating. In that latest interview she also said she received a threat from Japanese fans during one of their shows (Johny Weir posted about this) and she explained that situation had nothing to do with figure skating, that it was a ''female envy' thing because japanese fans didnt want to see her next to THAT someone. And yeah, about her ''Ex" who got married and divorced - clearly that was another dig at Yuzu. Also kinda clear why she wanted to move to Orser now, lol

[@flywings111]

That threat she was talking about was at a Fantasy on Ice show in a form of a letter. The problem was that no one believed her because it turned out that she herself wrote that letter - her handwriting was noticeable and she made typical Russian mistakes in the letter, something that a Japanese person wouldn't make. She is an attention seeker who had a heavy crush on Hanyu. When Hanyu had enough of her attention seeking, he avoided her like a plague lol.

[@LimonMitZukerki]

@@flywings111 sad story, but i guess typical for teenagers (which she was at that time). but now, she seems to be consciously using this for media attention.

[@seashellez]

🥇

[@KYCyn1066]

I don't understand how if you take away Kamila's points, that Russia still is in third place.

[@andrewkirichkov1914]

Because Russia is that good. Without one skater and still got bronze.

[@flywings111]

It's because other skaters behind Kamila don't move up one place. After the SP, Kamila gets 0 point, Wakaba gets 9 (instead of 10), Schizas 8 (instead of 9), after the FS, Kamila gets 0 point, Sakamoto 9 (instead of 10), Schizas 8 (instead of 9)...

[@lindamolinari4951]

David Lease when asking about Kamila Valieva's future= Schadenfreude! Schadenfreude! Schadenfreude! Schadenfreude! Schadenfreude!

[@TheSkatingLesson]

I actually hope she can do well and have a life in skating.

[@annabondaruk4583]

@@TheSkatingLessonTo believe in this is as hard as for you to believe in innocence of Valieva and team Tutberidze.

[@TheSkatingLesson]

I believe the evidence should speak for itself.@@annabondaruk4583

[@annabondaruk4583]

@@TheSkatingLesson Ok, what evidence? All Tutbetidze sportmen were clean all these years. Amount found - traces that fall into possible error of equipment/laboratory.

[@ЛюбаЛюба-о2м]

Kamila will definitely return for victory. And may God help her in this, contrary to the expectations of evil people!

[@veragorchenina5123]

In conclusion it's Very profitable to dope your underage attentes bc in the and the children will take the punishment Will you continue a busing new even younger girl s fo Eteri co its a win student of Tutberidze

[@ЛюбаЛюба-о2м]

What nonsense are you saying, forgive me! Eteri has been working with girls for 10 years and this is the first time in all this time for all her students. It is possible that this was accidental contamination, or maybe it was done by competitors for whom it is profitable to destroy Eteri and her best student Kamila Valieva

[@primalcritters]

Or, another theory I have is that perhaps the day of the Russian Nationals Kamila was feeling under the weather and instead of going the proper routes and getting a therapeutic use exemption, perhaps her mother said take this supplement so you can feel better and perform. It's just crazy because there are retroactive therapeutic use exemptions that we have seen Serena Williams would get frequently with for steroids even for minor colds which is pretty crazy. And then of course we know Simone biles with her exemption for amphetamines which I think is not right. My point is merely that if it was intentionally given, why not get a therapeutic these exemption? Otherwise, I think she was laced on purpose

[@My-hat]

But we are not talking about those sports. Her mother wouldn’t just give her a heart medication though. That’s not going to make you feel bette in a one off under weather situation. And it’s not like a nutrient boost. Heart medication ? It’s not like taking a cold tablet etc. Also the family wouldn’t risk messing with the team doctor or Eteri etc. they have very strict diets and protocol, a parent wouldn’t interfere with this system knowing they are not the experts or would get in trouble. I feel very sorry for Kamila. Whether she knew what she was taking it not, it could’ve been in her vitamin drink or water or handed it and told just take it. She had no choice at her age. They calculate everything that goes in and out to monitor so it is the doctor and Eteri. They weigh the girls and everything to come up with the doses. This is why nothing can be messed wit by outsiders. It is very strict everything that goes into the athlete is monitored.

[@ЛюбаЛюба-о2м]

Why don't you believe that this could have been an accidental entry of the medicine into Кamila's body?

[@ЛюдмилаАметаева]

Beautiful, unique

[@TheSkatingLesson]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@Zorro-65l]

Если вы не курсе, как вы можете рассуждать?! Пустословие, лишь бы ляпать что то!

[@ВасилийКуролесов-ч2й]

Kamila Valieva es la mejor

[@julesc3089]

I am so sick of Russia. Just don’t except the Bronze. Of course something was wrong. Russia should be out for the near future. Let everybody else move on. Europe is really looking good in the pairs . Let’s move on, forget Russia.

[@eileencervi9986]

If Russia never came back, I would not miss them.

[@valeriamariasina6656]

Unfortunately, you talk about 140 million people. Yes, there is a mad government, but it's just unfair to cancel 140 million people. It looks like racism. It's not my fault that I was born in Russia with its complex history, touching people's feelings (kind of resentment) and bad propaganda touching people's brains. There's nothing different from Germany's history. It's a naive and easy way to cancel 140 million, but it's not a good way to solve the situation. It's easy to say "Let's forget Russia" but what should Russian citizens do in this World? kill themself? When you cancel normal people, you turn normal people into Putin's hell.

[@ЛюбаЛюба-о2м]

What you are saying now is called chauvinism! It's low

[@Richardsonprincess00]

Russia deserve the worst of cheating in figure skating

[@glaznflip1501]

Blame Roman sadovsky for Canada placing 4th… he choked

[@flywings111]

He was a last minute replacement for Keegan Messing so he was in a really difficult situation. I wouldn't blame him only as it was a team effort. Moore-Towers/Marinaro was only 5th after the SP, James/Radford 4th in the FS for instance...

[@ОльгаБурнашова-т4ы]

Why award the medals to Russian skaters who support the war snd putin like Vika Nikita and Mishina Galliamov and have a young doping athlete ? Give the medal to Canada if they don’t want it

[@ЛюбаЛюба-о2м]

Why allow Israel to compete if they committed genocide in Palestine?

[@jekicolin8036]

“nutriologist” 😭😭

[@jlgood89]

I can't tell what your point is? Everyone has moments where they can't remember a word.

[@ЧеловекТакой-э3г]

Камила Валиева она лучшая!! Это не на нее замахнулись подонки, а на всю Россию! Российские спортсмены самые лучшие и талантливые, и еще сильнее всех Камила! Если Вы ее убрали, талантливые спортсменки у нас не заканчиваются!

[@ЛюбовьМешнякова]

10лет все чистые пробы вас не смущает что перед Олимпиадой подставили девочку и отдали на с’едение волкам я видела как издевались такие кабаны типо ВАДА

[@drednotfear-ru2kn]

American team is not worthy of gold.

[@bassethound1]

American team is clean athlete.

[@Tunumanta]

​@@bassethound1if you are not in prison yet, this is not your merit, but a flaw in the system.

[@flywings111]

Everybody knows that Russia deserves the gold because they had the strongest team in Beijing.

[@Ladybug-ez6od]

Aided by drugs.

[@Tunumanta]

​@@Ladybug-ez6odнаша песня хороша - начинай сначала.

[@ingai7014]

Canada 🍁 has to fight for their Bronze !💯

[@andrewkirichkov1914]

No chance. You have to remove another skater from Russian team to get that.

[@ingai7014]

@@andrewkirichkov1914 nope :if valieva would not be there :that would move Canada women up to standing :do your math

[@ingai7014]

@@andrewkirichkov1914 will see :the entire team should be Disqualified:it called :team event ,after all :one discipline missing -not a team

[@ingai7014]

@@andrewkirichkov1914 Skate Canada argued that the ISU was not applying Rule 353, which states that "competitors having finished the competition and who initially placed lower than the disqualified competitor will move up accordingly in their placement".

[@andrewkirichkov1914]

Canada has to fight for the bronze on the skating ring, not the court. But what am I talking about? Getting medals through courts is the way to do it. Go for it and be proud.@@ingai7014

[@ingai7014]

It’s called :team event :valieva is disqualified:there is no team :simple as that

[@flywings111]

There was a team, but they participacted in 3 disciplines instead of 4. It is still called a team.

[@ingai7014]

@@flywings111 does not work like that :the entire discipline is out -can’t be counted,not only :the entire team should be disqualified-as it’s done in relays

[@ЛюбаЛюба-о2м]

​@ingai7014 you are wrong. To disqualify the entire team, dirty samples from two participants are required. Learn the rules, dear!

[@ingai7014]

Maximum is 6 years :it’s being reduced to 4 already

[@ЛюбаЛюба-о2м]

Did they give you 6 years?

[@ingai7014]

Ruzzian federation ban for doping was just lifted 🙈-interesting :how nobody talking about this ban being reverse with this new scandal ?