Chasing Gold 🥇: All eyes on Kamila Valieva as doping drama dominates Winter Olympics
The Kamila Valieva doping saga continues to roil the Beijing Olympics.
As the 15-year-old Russian figure skater was set to return to the ice Thursday for the second half of the women's individual competition, the controversy remains in the headlines.
After Valieva finished in first place Tuesday during the short program, a retired Olympic and world figure skating judge said she should not be leading the competition. Joe Inman told Paste BN Sports on Wednesday that after watching the short program several times from his home in Northern Virginia, he believes Valieva should have been third behind Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto and Russia’s Anna Shcherbakova.
In a daily news briefing Wednesday, IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said it's premature to make any "grand statements" or conclusions about Valieva's case because it "has not yet concluded."
But the IOC and the World Anti-Doping Agency are playing a shell game, each one blaming the other so no one has to take responsibility and Russia can continue dodging accountability, writes Paste BN Sports' Nancy Armour.
And Paste BN Sports' Brent Schrotenboer takes a closer look at the doping case that asks why was Valieva using 'cocktail' of substances?
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OVERCOMING OBSTACLES: The U.S. women's hockey team will face Canada once again (Wednesday, 11:10 p.m. ET) with gold on the line, nine days after a 4-2 loss to their rival in group play. The journey to reach this point has not been without tribulations brought on by the pandemic and other circumstances.
NO MIRACLE: The U.S. men’s hockey team was less than a minute from making the medal round. Instead, the U.S. will have nothing to show from the Beijing Olympics after losing 3-2 to Slovakia.
WHAT'S THE POINT? With a second consecutive hockey tournament at the Olympics being played without NHL players, why should anyone care about this product at all? asks Paste BN Sports' Dan Wolken.
'STROKE OF BAD LUCK': American figure skater Vincent Zhou is finally out of quarantine after missing his event because he tested positive for COVID-19.
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AMERICANS DOMINATE: Alex Hall and Nick Goepper won gold and silver, respectively, in men's slopestyle, earning Team USA a spot on the podium in the event for the third consecutive Olympics.
'EMOTIONS TOOK OVER': Russian speedskater Daniil Aldoshkin apologized after he flashed his middle fingers Tuesday following a win against the U.S. in the men's team pursuit semifinals.
NOT THIS TIME: Jessie Diggins and Rosie Brennan fell short of cross country skiing medal and finished fifth for the U.S.
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