Vaitsekhovskaya: “I understand what surprised Tutberidze in the subtext of Tarasova’s words, but I don’t understand exactly what Tarasova should apologize for”

Olympic diving champion, RT journalist Elena Vaitsekhovskaya responded to the conflict that arose between Eteri Tutberidze And Tatyana Tarasova .

Previously, Tutberidze demanded an official apology from Tatiana Tarasova for her comments on the doping case. Kamila Valieva . Earlier, Tarasova said that none of the athletes could do themselves and that such pills “could only be administered by a coach.”

“I perfectly understand what struck Eteri Tutberidze so strongly in the subtext of Tatiana Tarasova’s words, but at the same time I do not understand exactly what Tarasova should apologize for, even if she does it for purely opportunists.

Tatiana Anatolyevna actually formulated (and, in my opinion, without any reference to Tutberidze and Valieva) a fundamental thing in large-scale sport: an athlete has no right to take any medicine, pill, mixture of another way, except at the hands (or with the approval) of your own trainer. Likewise, a doctor does not have the right to recommend medication to an athlete without coordinating his recommendation with the coach and obtaining his agreement.

I could be wrong, of course, but I think Eteri’s reaction has something to do with this as well. She herself, as a professional, could repeat Tarasova’s words if we were talking about another athlete. Because from the point of view of elite sport, it is an axiom. A rule that does not require proof, writes Vaitsekhovskaya in Telegram channel .

In late January, CAS disqualified Valieva for anti-doping rule violations, satisfying the World Anti-Doping Agency’s request for a four-year suspension. The athlete’s sample contained the banned drug trimetazidine.

WADA later said the agency had no evidence of coach Eteri Tutberidze’s possible involvement in the skater’s anti-doping rule violation.