(Moscow) Russian President Vladimir Putin offered one of the country’s biggest awards to figure skating coach Eteri Tutberidze on Monday, nearly a year after one of his proteges found herself at the heart of the main scandal of doping to have splashed the Beijing Winter Olympics.
A presidential decree dated January 26, but released on Monday, noted that Tutberidze, 48, was among three people who received the Order of Alexander Nevsky “for exemplary training of athletes who have accomplished sporting achievements” at the Beijing Games in February 2022.
Tutberidze has coached several great skaters, including 2018 PyeongChang Olympics champion Alina Zagitova and 2022 gold medalist Anna Shcherbakova. However, her reputation was tarnished by the fact that several of her young skaters had very short careers, often marred by numerous injuries.
One of her proteges, Kamila Valieva, was the favorite to win gold in the individual event at the Beijing Games. Valieva also allowed the Russians to win the team event, but an anti-doping test carried out shortly before the start of the Olympics proved positive. She was still able to compete in the individual event, while the result was contested, and she eventually finished fourth.
As the 15-year-old left the rink, Tutberidze called out to her, asking her why she had “given up”. The president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, then said that he had been “disturbed” by what he had seen.