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Embattled Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva had multiple slip-ups during her run in the women’s free skate competition on Thursday, leading to a fourth-place finish at the Winter Olympics.
The 15-year-old skater was clearly emotional as she finished up her routine. Her coach Eteri Tutberidze made it clear she wasn’t happy with the performance as the competitor came off the ice.
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Kamila Valieva of Team ROC reacts to their score with choreographer Daniil Gleikhengauz (R) and coach Eteri Tutberidze (L) after the Women Single Skating Free Skating on day thirteen of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at Capital Indoor Stadium on Feb. 17, 2022 in Beijing, China. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
"Why did you let it go?" she was heard asking in Russian, via The New York Times. "Why did you stop fighting? Explain it to me. Why? You let it go after that axel. Why?"
As the scores were read, Tutberidze put her arm around Valieva.
The falls were uncharacteristic of Valieva who had been dominant in the events leading up to the women’s free skate. She was emotional in the immediate aftermath of her round, appearing to come to grips with the fact that she was not making the podium.
There was a medals ceremony since Valieva, who is in the spotlight over a failed drug test before the start of the Beijing Games, failed to finish in the top three.
KAMILA VALIEVA MISSES PODIUM AFTER MULTIPLE FALLS IN WOMEN'S FREE SKATE
Kamila Valieva of Team ROC talks to coaches Eteri Tutberidze (L) and Sergei Dudakov (R) during the Women Single Skating Free Skating on day thirteen of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at Capital Indoor Stadium on Feb. 17, 2022 in Beijing, China. (David Ramos/Getty Images)
Valieva’s Russian Olympic Committee teammates Anna Shcerbakova and Alexandra Trusova took home gold and silver medals respectively. Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto finished with the bronze medal.
Valieva had been under the microscope since last week after it was learned she failed a drug test before the Beijing Games. She tested positive for three different substances meant to improve heart function in a sample taken before her arrival to Beijing, according to The New York Times. Documents reviewed by paper revealed that the lab in Stockholm that first detected the presence of trimetazidine in her sample taken on Dec. 25 at the 2022 Russian Figure Skating Championships in Saint Petersburg, Russia, also showed evidence of two other substances not banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
Two sources with knowledge of the briefing who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity said the WADA argued that the presence of both substances undercuts Valieva’s argument that the banned drug entered her system accidentally.
Kamila Valieva, of the Russian Olympic Committee, falls in the women's free skate program during the figure skating competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
An IOC official said Tuesday that during her hearing in which she was eventually cleared to compete, Valieva said the banned substance may have been the result of contamination with medication her grandfather took regularly.
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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it wouldn’t award any medals at all if Valieva finished in the top three.
Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.