‘Thank God’: Johnny Weir, Tara Lipinski don’t hold back after Kamila Valieva’s 2022 Olympics fall

Figure-skating commentators Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir couldn’t hide their relief after suspected doping cheat, Kamila Valieva of the Russian Olympic Committee, stunningly plummeted from gold-medal favorite to fourth place in the women’s free skate event on Thursday.

As the 15-year-old Valieva’s low scores were announced, and it was clear that the International Olympic Committee’s plan to scrap the ceremony and withhold medals if she finished in the top three would not be needed, Weir exclaimed, “Thank God!”

“Thank goodness for all the other medalists to have that moment,” Lipinski said, to which Weir quickly added, “And to have done it cleanly.”

Lipinski and Weir have been outspoken critics of The Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision to allow Valieva to compete after failing a drug test.

Valieva led the competition after the short program and had the highest base score for her scheduled four-minute long program. She could’ve survived a mistake or two, but not as many as she made. The gold and silver were out of reach before her skates left the ice.

“I can’t imagine how tough this has been on Kamila and it makes me angry that the adults weren’t able to make better decisions and guide her and be there for her because she is the one now dealing with the consequences,” Lipinski said. “And she’s just 15 and that’s not fair. With that being said, she should not have been allowed to skate in this Olympic event.”

Valieva tested positive in December for the banned substance trimetazidine but claimed when the result was made public last week that it entered her body by accident and was meant for her grandfather.

“On a human level I can’t imagine going through what she has been through,” Weir said, “but that doesn’t change the fact that she should’ve been nowhere near this competition. Every athlete at this level knows and understands that if you test positive for a banned substance you will not compete.”

The tone changed as the gravity of the scene played out, with Valieva left inconsolable and her ROC teammates seemingly angered. Trying to translate the language, Weir suggested that silver-medalist Aleksandra Trusova actually was angry and threatening not to take the podium because she did not win the gold over fellow Russian Anna Shcherbakova.

“I don’t even know what to feel or think,” Lipinski said. “All the other athletes, what they’ve gone through this week. The possibility of there being no medal ceremony or podium, that’s what every little girl dreams of when they think of the Olympics.”

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Weir called it “heartbreaking” to watch Valieva’s emotion as she went behind a curtain but said the “people around her should’ve kept her from competing here.”

The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled to let Valieva compete because a disqualification would’ve caused “irreparable harm” to a minor.

“The court that ruled to allow Kamila to skate in this competition was worried about the ramifications on her mental health of not competing,” Weir said. “And I wonder what they are thinking now as to what just happened to Kamila Valieva.”

With the weight of the world on her shoulders, Valieva’s program was filled with uncharacteristic mistakes, including a fall to the ice.

“I don’t know how you deal with that,” Lipinski, the gold medalist at the 1998 Winter Olympics, said. “I would’ve crumbled.”