“The fact that Valieva is continuing her career suggests that she has overcome the crisis” – psychologist

Sports psychologist, world-class master of sports of Russia in figure skating Victoria Borzenkova spoke about the psychological state of the figure skater Kamila Valieva against a background of stress and scandals.

“For every person, this is excessive stress. I don’t presume to judge if there was any psychological preparation there, there wasn’t, how it could be – it’s very easy to argue, but only the person themselves can feel and share that. I will not tell you what she felt, it is better to invite her and tell her about it. Everyone collects this opinion, trying to understand from the point of view of psychology, I gave an interview. But how the man coped, only he can tell. The fact that she continues her career, that she can go on the ice, it is not an injury for her, she puts on a program that she skates, as we see, with pleasure, continues her specialization – this suggests that this crisis, most likely, she has overcome. Otherwise, we would not have seen her, – Borzenkov is quoted by the “Championship”.

– My version is that this program on the Olympics is psychological training. Live to let go,” said commentator Andrey Zhurankov.

– I talked about it in an interview, it’s like an option. The fact that she experiences it and experiences it repeatedly is desensitization. When we hit a lot, we develop a callus. First it enters the blood, then mobilization is triggered and a protective reaction is activated. It is the same with the psyche. Maybe living this story desensitizes her and the heat level [падает]. Alternatively, I won’t say that’s the case – better ask HQ, Eteri and Kamila herself, what the purpose of the production was. What exactly they wanted to show, convey, experience,” Borzenkova said.

Valieva at the Beijing Olympics helped the Russian team win gold in team competitions. Before the personal tournament, it became known that the illegal drug trimetazidine was discovered during the doping test of the Russian championship figure skater. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) allowed the Russian to participate in the individual competitions of the Games, where she took fourth place.

On January 13, RUSADA’s anti-doping disciplinary commission concluded that although the athlete committed an anti-doping rule violation, she bears “no fault or negligence”. Valieva, 16, escaped punishment other than the cancellation of her results as of the December 25, 2021 sample date.

RUSADA, the International Skating Union (ISU) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) have appealed to CAS, WADA is demanding that the athlete be disqualified for four years.

Championship