Spot on, buddy. They ruined a child prodigy.
twowindsbear wrote:
Why was that performance so terribly BAD??
Really quite simple to explain: She was off her meds.
That is not discernible, but certainly she was feeling a host of emotions, including pressure to win.
Mark
This was a disgrace on several levels. According to the doping rules, she should not have been allowed to compete, period. The IOC should have been firm regardless of whether the drugs were accidental or not. They have banned other athletes for similar infractions. If their logic was to protect the psyche of a 15 year old, they failed miserably, as did her coaches. She was so rattled by all the drama and uncertainty, she lost her focus and performed way below her capabilities. What will that do to her confidence? And, to add to the drama, her teammates acted like children. The gold medal winner was not supported by her team or coaches, and the silver medalist bitched and moaned and cried and swore she will never skate again. Sad commentary on what should be the pinnacle of sports and achievement.
Not disagreeing, but maybe the problem isn't age, but the whole concept of such intense competition. They raised the age some time ago I believe, so what age is right, say we make it 18 or 21 when we decide their adults. Unless the rules/law forbids training until say 16 or 18 (how?, competition yes, training near impossible) they would just train for more years before ever really knowing how good they were. Finally, what is done/happens to them is probably no worse than what parents do to kids for many things, we just see the ugly results in real time.
My worse example, was a small boy(6-7) in Utah whose mother insisted he follow her down the black, extremely difficult ski run. He was crying and screaming I'm going to die. We went to the ski patrol, but they had already tried. Did't have a cell phone, but now realize I should somehow have notified the sherift's office.
JimG1
Loc: Waxahachie, TX
DavidPhares wrote:
This sheds a bright light on what is wrong with the system. Anyone not seeing this young girl as the victim in this matter is just blind. And, her coaches and handlers should be banned from any future contact with young people and all international competition.
I couldn't agree more. It's the coaches and the rest of her team that need to be banned.
The fault lies entirely with her handlers. Let's not forget that the ROC supposedly does not represent Russia and hence they are not a flag country. If anyone should be punished it would be her coach who, in all probability, told her to take the meds and like all good little Russian atheletes, she followed her without question.
When you consider that even the IOC presdent came out publicly and chastised her coach which should tell us all the fault rests with the politics of the ROC team leaders and their need to win at all costs.
However, even though I sympathize with Valieva, banned medications are still a non-starter when looking at the Olympics. She should not have been allowed to skate if the IOC had any spine at all but clearly, they do not.
Right on Mark! Unfortunately the entire Olympic experience is now rotten to the core. Russia shouldn't even be competing so they are now known as "Russian Olympic Committee" Its a joke.These poor kids (from every country)
work their buns off for years only to be taken advantage of by greedy bureaucrats.
Ben Johnson of Canada comes to mind when I think of performance-enhancing drugs, but he was an adult. Then there were all the east German women who grew mustaches. Development of these substances and drug testing countered by masking techniques shows there are a lot of educated people (not to mention money) involved in these shenanigans. It does hurt sports for all types. Yet we've got more challenges ahead to maintain a level playing field.
twowindsbear wrote:
Why was that performance so terribly BAD??
Really quite simple to explain: She was off her meds.
Ah, yes "meds," a Russian specialty.
The future is genetic changes, cut out one version of a gene and replace it with another equally valid version.
NJphotodoc wrote:
The fault lies entirely with her handlers. Let's not forget that the ROC supposedly does not represent Russia and hence they are not a flag country. If anyone should be punished it would be her coach who, in all probability, told her to take the meds and like all good little Russian atheletes, she followed her without question.
When you consider that even the IOC presdent came out publicly and chastised her coach which should tell us all the fault rests with the politics of the ROC team leaders and their need to win at all costs.
However, even though I sympathize with Valieva, banned medications are still a non-starter when looking at the Olympics. She should not have been allowed to skate if the IOC had any spine at all but clearly, they do not.
The fault lies entirely with her handlers. Let's n... (
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It's the Court of Arbitration for Sport that ruled she could compete, and apparently the IOC had to follow their ruling. The IOC announced that if she won a medal, there would be no medal ceremony, setting it up to deny her the medal. The CAS said they were concerned with her mental health, but what good would it have been for her mental health if she won a medal and then they took it away? At least the clean athletes got their medal ceremony, and that's assuming the other Russian skaters weren't doping. Maybe they just didn't get caught.
JBRIII wrote:
The future is genetic changes, cut out one version of a gene and replace it with another equally valid version.
If that goes far enough, the "athletes" can compete by means of specs. Enter all the data into a computer, and see which country built the better "athlete."
phlash46
Loc: Westchester County, New York
markngolf wrote:
Her poor performance was devastatingly shocking. She's only 15 yrs. of age. Where were the adults, who should have protected her, and not allowed her to compete?
What a sad commentary for the supervision and coaching of young people. Shame on you, Russia!! Shame on you Olympic committees for not protecting this courageous 15 yr. old!
She's still the most gifted and talented female skater in the world (in my opinion). I hope she recovers from this experience!
I'm trusting this is NOT political. Certainly not my intent!
Mark
Her poor performance was devastatingly shocking. S... (
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Jeez, it takes a real man to pick on a 15 year old girl...
jerryc41 wrote:
If that goes far enough, the "athletes" can compete by means of specs. Enter all the data into a computer, and see which country built the better "athlete."
I like it, we can spec everyone who wants to compete in any event of any kind. Then forget all the real stuff, just endless fantasy sports at every level of every competitive activity. All sports becone just numbers and statistics and the nerds make all the moneyππππππππππ
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