Figure Skater Kamila Valieva Bound to Retire Soon!

Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva (Russia), nicknamed “Despair”, competed at the Beijing Olympics as the most likely candidate for the gold medal, but was rocked by doping problems and finished 4th in the competition.

In the midst of all this, a shocking article about her future was published.

The article, “15-Year-Old Valieva Advised to Retire,” was published by the Russian media.

The article was published by the Russian media outlet Kinoafisha. The article quotes Alexander Zhulin, a silver medalist at the Lillehammer Olympics and an instructor and choreographer.

‘You should finish your career as a professional and make money in entertainment.’

The reason behind Zhulin’s stern recommendation is that Russian athletes have been unable to participate in international competitions since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Zhulin also opined that “it will be in limbo for a long time to come.”

Valieva, born April 26, 2006 in Kazan, Russia, won the 2019 Junior Grand Prix Final and the 2020 World Junior Figure Skating Championships before entering the senior ranks in the 2021/2022 season. She immediately won both Skate Canada and the Russian Cup in succession, both with the highest scores in the world. At the Russian Championships, she won for the first time, breaking her own world record, though not recognized by the International Skating Union (ISU). She also won the European Championships in January this year. She was now in a position to win the Beijing Olympics, but as mentioned above, she missed out on a medal.

Immediately after that, the war broke out, and Russian skaters were excluded from the World Figure Skating Championships. This series of happenings raised concerns about her mental state.

Figure skaters have a short life span, and Alina Zagitova, who won gold at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, did not even participate in the Beijing Olympics. With that in mind, “retirement” may be realistic.

If only there had been no war, perhaps the situation would have been different. People hope this war, which has ruined the lives of athletes, will end soon.