Kamila Valieva: Winter Olympics' YOUNGEST competitor is first to land two quads after stunning debut
Kamila Valieva, a Russian skater displayed some charming moves in her Olympic debut at the Beijing Games on Sunday, February 6. Her skills, talent, grace, and groove were appreciated by rivals and teammates alike! That is not all, 15-year-old Valieva made history by becoming the first woman to successfully land a quad at the Winter Olympics on February 7.
Just one performance in, this 15-year old charmer now holds three world records in her name. These include the short program, free skate, and total score. Fellow teammate Nikita Katsalapov said, "All the best qualities of a figure skater come together in this fragile girl." The Beijing Winter Olympics did not start off on a positive note as there were reports of the horrific conditions in which the participating athletes were being made to stay in quarantine, but the organizers may have won some brownie points from K-pop fans as it came to light that the games organizers have roped in monster rookies IVE and idol actor Winwin from NCT and WayV. Controversy still plagued the event as Beijing 2022 organizers have been accused blatant 'propaganda' after they used a Uyghur athlete, Dinigeer Yilamujiang, to light the cauldron at the Winter Olympics
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On Sunday, February 6, at Beijing's Capital Indoor Stadium Valieva wowed her audiences when she scored a whopping 90.18 points. This score was only 0.27 points short of 90.45. This score helped the Russian Olympic Committee win first place with three events yet to be completed. Teammate Katsalapov also said, "She motivates the whole team … It’s just a pleasure to watch her performances. She improves from one competition to the next.” The Russian skater Valieva has remained quite taciturn when it comes to her success after winning the European title to her name.
After her dazzling performance at the Beijing Games when she was asked if she was unbeatable, the 15-year-old simply shrugged her shoulders and did not give any answer. Valieva sure is quite unattached to her laurels as the next day, In the free skate, Valieva repeated her historical performance and secured gold for the Russians. She had a rare fall on a quad. But the two quad attempts that she landed were the first-ever by a woman in an Olympic competition.
In addition to Valieva, her teammates Alexandra Trusova and Anna Shcherbakova have also been coached by Eteri Tutberidze. Tutberidze is renowned for raising a fleet of talented Russian skaters with skills and excellence. These three charmers that have been training under Tutberidze showed some gravity-defying moves including quadruple jumps that significantly increased the standards of the competition. Such elements were close to unimaginable before. US skater Karen Chen said, "I’m not capable of doing what they are doing." In response to this, Valieva said, "I don’t know how they train elsewhere. But the training we receive is enough to perform these difficult elements.”
Teammate Katsalapov added, "There is a secret for sure. I'm wondering, too."