Russian Olympic Coach Deletes Patriotic Social Network Posts and May Seek Asylum for Fear of Her Life

Russian figure skating coach Eteri Tutvelyse has deleted Russian flags and shots of him and Putin that he has been posting on his Instagram account, creating a buzz in the country. It has been pointed out that he may have defected to the United States, among other things.

Tutberidze was born in 1974. She was originally a singles athlete, but an injury ended her competitive career and she became an ice show skater. It was not as a skater but as a coach that she developed her talent.

Tutvelyse is known for coaching Anna Scherbakova, the gold medalist in the women’s singles figure skating at the Beijing Olympics, and Alexandra Trusova, the silver medalist, as well as Kamila Waliyeva (4th), who was initially considered the favorite to win. In addition, he has trained such other great athletes as gold medalist Alina Zagitova and silver medalist Evgenia Medvedeva at the PyeongChang Olympics.

On the other hand, USA Today criticized Tutberlise’s “skeptical coaching methods. He has trained several players, including Evgenia Medvedeva, Evgenia Tutvelidze, and Ekaterina Kosovo, who had short careers.

At the Beijing Olympics, he was also held accountable for the doping scandal involving his student, 15-year-old Valiyeva. …… She has also been called the “Iron Lady” for her harsh words to Walyeva, who had a series of falls in the free skate, asking her why she had stopped competing.

In the midst of all this, Tutberlise suddenly removed the Russian flag and other images from her Instagram. The Russian media was furiously critical, with some pointing out that “a person who receives a lot of money from the government has no right to behave in this way.

In fact, there are rumors that Tutberlise may have already moved to the U.S., as she lived in the U.S. when she was an ice show skater….

I am not sure if this is true or not, but I am very worried about her safety. If only there had been no war, she might not have had to do this. I hope that the figure skating world will get back to normal soon.