Valieva’s falls and crying are relief for the IOC at the Beijing Games

With each competitor who entered the track, the anticipation increased for the arrival of the presentation of Kamila Valieva, the 15-year-old Russian considered the great favorite in figure skating at the Beijing Winter Games.

The young woman, however, had more concerns than her performance this Thursday (17): she is under investigation for a doping charge.

The mental moment was reflected in the ice. Valieva fell on two occasions and supported herself on the ground in another movement. At the end of the race, she cried, probably aware that she would be off the podium, which was proven later. The Russian finished in fourth place.

In any case, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) had already announced that, if Valieva won a medal, there would be no award ceremony, precisely so that she would not be awarded in the midst of the doping case.

The substance found in his test, done on December 25, 2021, was trimetazidine, a drug used to treat cardiovascular disease. The results of the samples, sent to a Swedish laboratory, were released only last week.

The gold and silver medals on Thursday, however, went to the Russian Olympic Committee. Anna Scherbakova became Olympic champion, in a one-two with Alexandra Trusova. The Japanese Kaori Sakamoto completed the podium.

Canada wins women’s hockey gold

Canada beat the United States in the women’s hockey decision, 3-2, and won the gold medal in Beijing.

The Canadians opened the scoring early in the match, with Sarah Nurse. The team extended the lead with Marie-Philip Poulin (twice) who, by the way, became the first athlete to score goals in four Olympic hockey finals.

The US declined with Hilary Knight and Amanda Kessel, but ended up with the silver medal.

Olympic record in skating

Skater Miho Takagi, from Japan, made history in the 1,000 m speed skating event.

Takagi, 27, broke the Olympic record and took gold in 1:13.19, taking his fourth medal in Beijing — all the others were silver.

The Dutch Jutta Leerdam (1min13s83) and the American Brittany Bowe (1min14s61) completed the podium.

Favorite, Naeslund is champion in cross ski

World champion in 2021, the Swedish Sandra Naeslund, 25, confirmed her favoritism in ski cross and took the gold medal this Thursday, in her first Olympic podium in her career.

Marielle Thompson, from Canada, won the silver medal and, after a review, the Swiss Fanny Smith was punished and lost the bronze medal, given to the German Daniela Maier.

Covid-19

The Beijing Games Organizing Committee announced on Wednesday night (16) that none of the nearly 69,000 tests were positive for Covid-19. Since January 23, more than 1.6 million tests have been carried out, with 435 cases.