'At a loss' - Kamila Valieva coach Eteri Tutberidze responds to Thomas Bach 'chilling' comment at Winter Olympics

ByEurosport

Published 19/02/2022 at 10:27 GMT

Kamila Valieva's figure skating coach Eteri Tutberidze has now given her response to IOC president Thomas Bach after criticism of her treatment of the athlete at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. Tutberidze, who was caught on camera admonishing Valieva, said: "I am very grateful for the words of support. I am still at a loss from the assessment of our work by the esteemed Mr Bach."

'Explain to me, why??' - Watch 'chilling' moment Tutberidze berates Valieva

Eteri Tutberidze, the under fire figure skating coach, has responded after a strong backlash to her treatment of Kamila Valieva at the Winter Olympics, saying she is "at a loss" after criticism from IOC president Thomas Bach.

Russia claimed gold and silver in the ladies' singles but the post-event atmosphere was not one of celebration. Anna Shcherbakova spoke of feeling an "emptiness inside" after winning the gold medal, while her team-mates, Valieva and Alexandra Trusova, were left very upset after the competition at Beijing 2022.

A distraught Valieva missed out on a medal after a series of heartbreaking falls during her routine as Shcherbakova took the victory ahead of Trusova, who was shown to be furious with the result.

Beijing 2022

'Happy to be on the ice' - Valieva makes competitive return after Olympics

28/03/2022 at 14:48

That was all while Tutberidze made headlines for her frosty reaction to Valieva missing out on a medal in a moment which IOC president Bach described as "chilling".

"Why did you let it go?” she said to Valieva in a moment caught on camera.

"Explain it to me, why? Why did [you] stop fighting? You let it go after that axel. Why?"

Bach said of Tutberidze's conduct: "When I afterwards saw how she was received by her closest entourage, with such, what appeared to be a tremendous coldness, it was chilling to see this.

"Rather than giving her comfort, rather than to try to help her, you could feel this chilling atmosphere, this distance.”

Tutberidze has now given her response to Bach. Commenting on an Instagram post from another figure skating coach, Alex Zhulin, she wrote: "I am very grateful for the words of support.

"I am still at a loss from the assessment of our work by the esteemed Mr Bach."

'Trusova looking angry' - Russian star very unhappy while tearful Valieva consoled

There was intense scrutiny and pressure on Valieva following the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision to allow her to compete following her positive test. CAS has not yet ruled on whether she will be able to retain the gold medal she won in the team event before her positive test on December 25 was revealed.

It all made for an emotionally heightened event on Thursday, and after Valieva closed out the program, Trusova was shown to be in floods of tears and clearly angry at the scores awarded.

Trusova was heard to say: "I will never go out on the ice again. Never! I hate!

"It's impossible! You cannot do it this way! I'm not going to the awards! Everyone has a gold medal! Only I don't! I hate it all!"

Anna Shcherbakova after gold with Kamila Valieva, Alexandra Trusova

Image credit: Getty Images

So with all of that as the backdrop, it was perhaps no surprise to hear Shcherbakova describe her gold medal in less than jubilant terms with the champion clearly conflicted about how she felt.

"I still don’t comprehend what has happened," Shcherbakova said. "On the one hand I feel happy, on the other I feel this emptiness inside. I don’t feel like it’s me they’re talking about.

"I am happy that there will be a ceremony and that we are going to get our medals. Of course, it will be extremely pleasant for me to receive my medal.

"I was watching Kamila [Valieva] actually and her performance. I saw from her first jump how difficult it was, what a burden it was for her, and I understand what an athlete feels.

"It is more than difficult to go on to the end, after a couple of things like that happen [falling over], and I will tell her what I think about this later when I speak to her in private."