IOC President: 'It Was Chilling' to See Coaches' Treatment of Kamila Valieva

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach criticized Russian Olympic Committee coaches for their "tremendous coldness" following the free skate at the women's figure skating competition at the 2022 Beijing Games on Thursday.

"When I afterwards saw how she was received by her closest entourage, with such, what appeared to be a tremendous coldness, it was chilling to see this," Bach said at a news conference, per James Ellingworth of the Associated Press.

"Rather than giving her comfort, rather than to try to help her, you could feel this chilling atmosphere, this distance."

While Bach didn't mention anyone by name, Russian figure skating coach Eteri Tutberidze's conduct appeared to be a target.

"Why did you let it go? Why did you stop fighting?" Tutberidze asked Kamila Valieva after a free skate that saw her drop from first after the short program to fourth overall.

"Explain it to me," she continued. "Why? You let it go after that axel. Why?"

The 15-year-old Valieva, who tested positive for the heart medication trimetazidine, was allowed to compete in the free skate despite the test result. A full investigation is pending.

Bach acknowledged the fact, though, that the people responsible for giving her the drug are ultimately responsible (h/t James Toney of Sportsbeat).

"There is a 15-year old girl with a drug in her body that shouldn't be there," Bach said. "The ones that administered it to her, these are the people that are guilty."

The gold medal Valieva won alongside the rest of Russian Olympic Committee in the team event is subject to be taken away pending the investigation. If Valieva medaled Thursday, there would not have been an Olympic ceremony.

Naturally, emotions were high, and it resulted in tense and dramatic moments, specifically for the Russian Olympic Committee skaters.

The Russian Olympic Committee still took gold and silver, with Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova earning those honors.

"I still don’t comprehend what has happened," Shcherbakova said. "On the one hand I feel happy, on the other I feel this emptiness inside."

Trusova was heard saying "I hate this sport" and that she would not "go onto the ice again.”

Ellingworth also relayed a reported "fractious relationship" with her coach:

"Of the three teenagers, Trusova has had the most fractious relationship with Tutberidze. She switched coaches briefly, returning to the Tutberidze camp in May of last year. And her music selection seemed to send a message. She danced her long program to 'Cruella' from the movie soundtrack."

Tutberidze coaches at the Moscow skating school Sambo-70. Reports of abusive training methods have come under the spotlight, with Rita Wenxin Wang of Slate providing information:

"Tutberidze has come to be regarded as the world’s leading expert in creating figure skating champions. Her methods are no secret. The Eteri girls talk openly about not being able to drink water during competitions. They do their best to delay puberty by eating only 'powdered nutrients' or by taking Lupron, a puberty blocker known to induce menopause. They are subjected to daily public weigh-ins and verbal and physical abuse. And they compete while injured, huffing 'smelling salts' while wearing knee braces and collapsing in pain after programs."

"Every year, a new, younger Eteri girl emerges on the scene while others retire, at age 17, 16, or even 14. Skating fans call this the 'Eteri Expiration Date.'"

Other reports can be found via Dvora Meyers of FiveThirtyEight, Louise Radnofsky and Georgi Kantchev of the Wall Street Journal and more.

The spotlight will only shine brighter after Bach's comments.