One question lingered at the Capital Indoor Stadium as Kamila Valieva’s head sank towards her ankles, the tear ducts refused to shut and the Olympic dream of the greatest female skater in history came tumbling horribly to earth. Was all this really worth it? The trials and global tumult of the past week were already far beyond what any 15-year-old should have to bear. Yet Thursday’s free skate programme somehow heaped fresh indignities – and fears for the Russian’s situation.
When the haunting strains of Ravel’s Bolero rang out to start her free skating routine, Valieva had the Winter Olympic figure skating title on the tip of her blades. But under the severest scrutiny, she found herself unable to weave her usual spell. She fell twice – first on a quad toe loop and triple toe loop combination, and then again on another quad toe loop combination – and the crowd gasped and gasped again. It was almost as if a doppelgänger had been flown in from outer Siberia.
