Olympic figure skating could be gliding toward more controversy.
Among the contenders for gold starting with Tuesday’s women’s short program is 18-year-old Russian Adeliia Petrosian, whose ties to a scandal-scarred coach threaten to put another harsh spotlight on the sport.
At the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, the Russian Olympic Committee team was stripped of their gold medals after 15-year-old Kamila Valieva failed a drug test and was handed a four-year ban. Her coach, Eteri Tutberidze, has long served in the same role for Petrosian, who also shares the same choreographer and training site in Moscow as Valieva.
Petrosian won’t officially be representing Russia, participating as a “neutral athlete.” And Tutberidze isn’t in Milan officially as her coach, but is listed in that role for a male skater from Georgia.
But Tutberidze was present for Petrosian’s practice session on Monday, “looking very much like her coach,” according to The Athletic. Tutberidze was not found guilty by WADA and never sanctioned for Valieva’s positive test. There is no known record of Petrosian failing a drug test.
“[The World Anti-Doping Agency] did not accredit the coach. It is not our decision,” WADA President Witold Banka said earlier this month. “The coach is here. An investigation found no evidence that this particular person engaged in a doping process so there is no legal basis to exclude her from the Olympic Games.
“But, of course, if you ask my personal feeling, I don’t feel comfortable with her presence here at the Olympic Games.”
It is possible that the potential storm quietly passes.
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Petrosian is relatively untested, and will be competing in just her second senior-level since her country’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine — when Russians were first barred from international events — having qualified for the Games in her international debut in Beijing in September.
But it would be no surprise to see Petrosian reach the podium, as the three-time, reigning women’s national champion in Russia, known for her ability to land quadruple jumps.
And with the unofficial support of a coach who has guided the past three women’s gold medalists in the event.
“I can tell you that none of us have any idea how she will do, and she doesn’t have any idea, either,” former bronze medalist/analystAdam Rippon told The Athletic. “But it’s kind of sad to think about that, if she does win a medal, how that will reflect on the sport.”
