The 2006 Olympic champion in speed skating and a Russian State Duma deputy, Svetlana Zhurova, spoke in an interview with socialbites.ca about Megan Duhamel’s explanation of the unusual behavior seen from Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov at the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games.
Zhurova noted that the current discussion around this topic has surged mainly because of the Kamila Valieva case. She argued that, without Valieva’s situation, the chatter would not be as intense. The discussion, she suggested, serves to confuse public opinion. In her view, the sequence of events — first one skater acted, then another, and now speculation focuses on who accepted what and who said what — simply fuels speculation. She added that Duhamel’s reputation had already suffered unfairly in this context. Zhurova emphasized that in figure skating, artistry and other intangible factors play a crucial role and cannot be replaced by doping. She contrasted this with weightlifting, noting that she could not recall a figure skater being disqualified for anabolic steroids.
The Kamila Valieva doping controversy erupted during the 2022 Olympic Games, when a banned substance was detected in a test from December 2021. There was a push to disqualify the skater from competition, but ultimately she was allowed to participate in the Games just a day before the women’s individual event began.
Valieva’s team did not win a medal in the individual event; however, the team secured first place in the team competition. Had the positive result led to a ruling against exposure in the individual event, the Russian team could have lost its team trophy. Between September 26 and 29, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) planned to conduct hearings related to Valieva’s case.
In related commentary, former coach Tatyana Tarasova drew a comparison between Alina Zagitova and Lionel Messi, highlighting how different careers navigate scrutiny and expectation in high-profile competitive environments.