Winter Olympics: IOC president Thomas Bach ‘very, very disturbed’ by Kamila Valieva’s crumble, and blasts entourage as Kremlin responds

Bach calls for investigation into Valieva’s team, including notoriously strict coach Eteri Tutberidze, after ‘chilling’ post-skate exchange

Kremlin spokesman hits back, saying coach’s harshness won medals – ‘in high-level sport, the strongest wins,’

3-MIN READ3-MIN

Kamila Valieva (right) of the Russian Olympic Committee with figure skating coach Eteri Tutberidze at the Beijing Winter Olympic Games at the Capital Indoor Stadium. Photo: Reuters

Published: 2:51pm, 18 Feb 2022Updated: 7:55pm, 18 Feb 2022

The Kremlin on Friday responded to comments by the Olympic chief, in which he said he was “disturbed” watching Russian teen skater Kamila Valieva crumble under pressure and hit out at the 15-year-old’s coach for her “chilling” reaction.

In a press conference earlier on Friday, International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach said he had been “disturbed” watching Valieva’s error-filled fourth place performance in the women’s single on Thursday night.

Bach also said he was confounded by her coach’s harsh reaction afterwards and called for governments to look into the role of entourages around young athletes.

The Kremlin hit back by saying that the harshness of Valieva’s coach won medals.

“Thomas Bach is a very authoritative person in the sports world. Of course we respect his opinion but we do not necessarily agree with him,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call later on Friday.

International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach at a news conference for the Beijing Winter Olympic Games in the Olympic Media Centre. Photo: Reuters

“He doesn’t like the harshness of our coaches but everybody knows that the harshness of a coach in high-level sport is key for their athletes to achieve victories.