re: Valieva CLEARED

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It’s figure skating. It seems pretty equivalent to gymnastics. Non stop training, diet monitoring, etc. it’s no wonder they all break down in tears after competing

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Yep, imagine completely dedicating every second of your life for years tp perform in one routine....and then you fall and have nothing to show for it.

My suggestion would be that the ones who are tested and approved complete as individual athletes.

ROC or OAR is the same thing as Russia except the gold medalists don’t hear their anthem.

This would prevent athletes in any team or relay events completely. The punishment given to Russia was a slap on the wrist.

I would also have put an 8-10 year ban on the sports that had the bulk of doping, which were pretty much biathlon and cross country skiing.

Exceptions for a very small number of athletes, such as ones who live abroad, could be made.

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My suggestion would be that the ones who are tested and approved complete as individual athletes.

ROC or OAR is the same thing as Russia except the gold medalists don’t hear their anthem.

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That's actually what OAR was. The Olympic committee sent out invites to "clean" athletes. People saw through it so they just said "frick it" and basically rescinded the ban by allowing ROC to be used/in control. There was a great example in the mens 1,000m speedskating heats. The WR holder was racing and the announcers were discussing the whole time about how much his speeds were down. Then how he wasn't invited to compete in Pyongchang because of his background with the positive PED test.

I think there's going to be earthshattering changes between now and 2026. Likely a minimum age of 16 (ensuring athlete accountability), that coach is going to be banned for life, and I think Putin will be lucky if they only bar Russian athletes from Paris & Italy. I think there is a small chance that the IOC resets the 10 year ban and enforces it against all athletes from Russia.

Then again Ukraine is on the clock so that'll pull most of the heat on Russia there while this Olympic debacle fades into the background.

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And the ridiculous part is that she didn't deserve to win. She wasn't nearly as good as the one who won. Red haired Russian had -0- artistry. She didn't even attempt it. Just throw jump, throw jump. It wasn't even good to watch.

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BS 5 quads vs. a little more graceful pointless hand movements. Red haired chick got screwed for sure.

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BS 5 quads vs. a little more graceful pointless hand movements. Red haired chick got screwed for sure.

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Red haired chick did not get screwed at all. It’s not just a jumping contest. Johnny and Tara even commented at how she puts no effort at all into artistry. That fact cost her the gold. My Lord girl, at least attempt to make it look pretty. She literally only jumped. 1st place girl beat her easily! Not even a contest.

So tonight while working out at the gym I watched this for a third time. Yeah, I know. Tara and Johnny were slobbering all over the red haired girls routine in real time. Go back and watch. They basically said it was the greatest technical routine ever.

Now, a few minutes later the winner was up and she was so smooth and graceful.

What you had were different body types and different skill sets. The red haired girl had all the crazy spins and hard moves, the winner was graceful as hell.

Point is, I can see how the red head was pissed. She played the game that thought could win, huge jumps and quads all over the place. I came away understanding why she melted down.

In the end it's subjective. No time, no score, just judges.

Reminds me of the old days with the East German judges bagging on the USA skaters.

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My daughter is in gymnastics and she loves it, but Olympic or even college level, no way. I put my foot down on that. Too much. Don't want her wrecked.

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I have a friend who had been going back and forth about his 10 yo daughter. There is nobody in the area who can train with/compete with her. He or his wife now has to drive 6 hours round trip for every practice and meet. She's training at the sub-USAG level. Biles made him second guess doing it.

I think that's the difference between the Karoli/post-Karoli era and Russian figure skating. Karoli brought the communist state run type program with him and USAG sold out to him and his wife for Atlanta. Once the word got out you saw more and more gymnasts move to other coaches. At all levels USAG seems to have learned from that and stepped back. These Russian figure sisters have a false choice. They are identified and enticed by favorable treatment of their family until they've been used up and tossed aside like scrap paper.

We forget that our country has an entirely different lifestyle and value system. Those coaches didn't mean to do it but those 30 seconds from ice to the sitting area made her a sympathetic figure and laid bare the Russian system. It was disappointing to hear today that she was rushed back to Russia.

I think this whole fiasco shows how much of a joke that the ROC or OAR has been. I think the public perception of an outright Olympic ban on Russia would have been bad because the thought of not allowing girls like Valieva to compete. Now that it has come out that even the pretty little figure skaters are most likely doping with the rest of the Russian teams, that facade has fallen. Russia needs to be banned from the next 2 Olympic games.

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Point is, I can see how the red head was pissed. She played the game that thought could win, huge jumps and quads all over the place. I came away understanding why she melted down.

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Absolutely, technically great. But as the parent of a competitive gymnast/diver who watched those kinds of melt downs for years from a small handful of girls, she was never taught how to act. I would almost guarantee this wasn’t the first time she threw that kind of fit. And nobody called her on it. She should have learned much better behavior by now. Truth probably is that none of them ever thought she had a chance and therefore didn’t force her to work on artistry. They all thought Kamala would be wearing the crown. I still think Anna deserved it. You have to include artistry. If she had worked that just a little, she’d have won.

I do see your point. But by 17, she should not be behaving that way. Maybe for a minute, but not like what she did.