Kamila Valieva

Kamila Valeryevna Valieva is a Russian figure skater. She is the 2022 European champion, 2021 Rostelecom Cup champion, 2021 Skate Canada International champion, 2022 Russian national champion, and 2021 Russian National silver medalist. She is also a 2022 Olympic champion in the team event. Her competing in the 2022 Winter Olympics sparked controversy after it was confirmed that she had tested positive for trimetazidine, which is banned in sports competition for increasing endurance, and two other drugs which are not banned. The anti-doping case opened as a result of the positive drug test will decide whether Valieva will be awarded for any medal performances at the Beijing Olympics.

Valieva is the current world record holder for the women's short program, free skating and total scores. She has set nine world records during her career. She is the first female skater to break the 250-, 260- and 270-point thresholds in the total score (all within one season), the first to break the 170- and 180-point thresholds in the free skate, and the first to break the 90-point threshold in the short program. She is the second woman to land the quadruple toe loop after training partner and teammate Alexandra Trusova, the fourth woman to land a quadruple jump of any kind, the 16th woman to land a triple Axel, and the third woman to land a triple Axel and quadruple jump in the same program after Alysa Liu and training partner and teammate Sofia Akateva.

Valieva was born on 26 April 2006 in Kazan, Russia. She is of Volga Tatar ethnicity. She has one pet dog, a Pomeranian named Lëva (Lyova), gifted to her in 2019 by fans. Valieva was enrolled in gymnastics, ballet, and figure skating classes at an early age by her mother but encouraged to focus solely on skating after turning five. She named Nathan Chen as one of the skaters whose technique and ability she admires. In an interview showcased at the ISU Skating Awards 2021, Valieva hopes to become a psychologist after retiring from figure skating. Along with her teammate Alexandra Trusova, she prefers to use white Edea skating boots with silver blades in competition.

Valieva began skating in 2009 in RSDUSSHOR in Kazan. She was first coached by Ksenia Ivanova, followed by Marina Kudriavtseva and Igor Lyutikov, and Natalia Dubinskaya. When she turned six, she moved to Moscow to train at SSHOR Moskvich. In the spring of 2018, Valieva decided to switch skating clubs to Sambo-70, where Eteri Tutberidze decided to allow Valieva to join her group.

In the 2018–19 season, prior to her international debut, recordings of Valieva's short program, set to Spiegel im Spiegel by Arvo Pärt and inspired by Pablo Picasso's painting Girl on a Ball, received worldwide attention. Tutberidze described it as her favorite program of the year. The program also drew the notice of Picasso's granddaughter Diana Widmaier Picasso, who invited Valieva to visit her in Paris. Among other victories that season, she won the Russian Younger Age Championships ahead of training mates Sofia Akatieva and Sofia Samodelkina. It was later announced that Valieva would keep her short program for her international debut in the upcoming season.

2019

Valieva's international debut came in late August 2019 at a Junior Grand Prix competition in Courchevel, France. Ranked third in the short program and first in the free skate, she won the gold medal ahead of Wi Seo-yeong of South Korea and teammate and training partner Maiia Khromykh. At the competition, Valieva became the second female skater ever to land a quadruple toe loop in competition. Her total score at the event was the fourth highest score achieved by a ladies' single skater at the junior level, behind teammates Alexandra Trusova, Anna Shcherbakova, and Alena Kostornaia. Valieva also became the fourth junior lady to score above 200 points under the current GOE (Grade of Execution) system.

One month later, at the 2020 JGP Russia, she placed first in both programs with personal best scores to take the title ahead of compatriots Ksenia Sinitsyna and Viktoria Vasilieva. She attempted two quadruple toe loops in the free skate for the first time, landing one. With two gold medals, she qualified in first place to the 2019–20 Junior Grand Prix Final in Turin, Italy.

Prior to the 2019–20 Junior Grand Prix Final in December, a minor injury prevented Valieva from training the quadruple toe loop jump. She entered the final as a co-favorite for the title along with Alysa Liu of the United States. After placing fourth in the short program, Valieva delivered a clean free skate to take the title ahead of Liu, who dropped from first place in the short program after under-rotating a triple Axel and both of her quad Lutzes, and training mate Daria Usacheva.

At 13 years old, Valieva was too young to enter the 2020 Russian Championships as a senior in December. In early February, Valieva instead competed at the 2020 Russian Junior Championships, which she won after placing first in both programs ahead of Akatieva and Usacheva. She once again included two quadruple toe loop jumps in her free skate, after recovering from her previous injury, stepping out on one and landing another in combination with a double toe loop. After the competition, she was named to the Russian team for the 2020 World Junior Championships along with teammates Usacheva, who placed third, and Khromykh, who placed fifth; silver medalist Akatieva and fourth-place finisher Sofia Samodelkina were too young to be eligible.

The 2020 World Junior Championships were again seen by many as a showdown between Valieva and Liu, who had recently defended her title at the senior-level 2020 U.S. Championships. Valieva placed first in the short program ahead of Lee Hae-in of South Korea and Usacheva, setting a new personal best. Her score of 74.92 points was the second highest short program score ever for a junior lady, only behind Kostornaia's short program at the 2018–19 Junior Grand Prix Final. In the free skate, she performed similarly to the Russian Junior Championships, stepping out on her opening quadruple toe loop and landing all other jumps cleanly, including a second quadruple toe loop in combination. She won the title and became the new Junior World Champion, ahead of Usacheva and Liu. Valieva remarked afterward that "there was a little mistake on the toe loop, but basically I am pleased with my performance."

Valieva skated at the 2020 Russian test skates in Moscow, showcasing her new programs for the 2020–21 season. She executed a quad toe combination in her free skate. She competed at the second stage of the Russian Cup. There, she skated cleanly, placing first in the short program but third in the free skate due to several unexpected mistakes. She won the silver medal. She later competed at the fifth stage of the Russian Cup. There, she placed first in the short program, with one step out on a triple Axel attempt. In the free skate, she also placed first, completing two quadruple toe loops (one in combination) and with only one mistake on a triple Lutz. She placed first, winning the gold medal with one of the highest total scores in Russian domestic competition.

Making her senior Russian Championships debut, Valieva placed second in the short program despite falling on her triple Axel. She also placed second in the free skate with two clean quads landed, and, despite an underrotated triple flip, won the silver medal.

Following the national championships, Valieva participated in the 2021 Channel One Trophy, a televised team competition organized in lieu of the cancelled European Championships. Selected to the Red Machine team by captain Alina Zagitova, Valieva won both the short program and free skates, helping her team win the trophy. At her final event of the season, Valieva participated in the senior Russian Cup Final, winning the short program by a wide margin. In the free skate, she attempted a quadruple Salchow in competition for the first time but fell and made additional errors on both quad toe loop attempts. As a result, she finished third in the segment; however, the strength of her short program score allowed her to win the overall event by 2.04 points over teammate Maiia Khromykh.Valieva skated at the 2020 Russian test skates in Moscow, showcasing her new programs for the 2020–21 season. She executed a quad toe combination in her free skate. She competed at the second stage of the Russian Cup. There, she skated cleanly, placing first in the short program but third in the free skate due to several unexpected mistakes. She won the silver medal. She later competed at the fifth stage of the Russian Cup. There, she placed first in the short program, with one step out on a triple Axel attempt. In the free skate, she also placed first, completing two quadruple toe loops (one in combination) and with only one mistake on a triple Lutz. She placed first, winning the gold medal with one of the highest total scores in Russian domestic competition.

Making her senior Russian Championships debut, Valieva placed second in the short program despite falling on her triple Axel. She also placed second in the free skate with two clean quads landed, and, despite an underrotated triple flip, won the silver medal.

Following the national championships, Valieva participated in the 2021 Channel One Trophy, a televised team competition organized in lieu of the cancelled European Championships. Selected to the Red Machine team by captain Alina Zagitova, Valieva won both the short program and free skates, helping her team win the trophy. At her final event of the season, Valieva participated in the senior Russian Cup Final, winning the short program by a wide margin. In the free skate, she attempted a quadruple Salchow in competition for the first time but fell and made additional errors on both quad toe loop attempts. As a result, she finished third in the segment; however, the strength of her short program score allowed her to win the overall event by 2.04 points over teammate Maiia Khromykh.

Valieva made her international senior debut at the 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy. She placed third in the short program after falling on her triple Axel attempt. In her free skate, she landed three quad jumps, recording a world record score of 174.31 points, also setting a new world record for total points (249.24).

Making her senior Grand Prix debut at the 2021 Skate Canada International, Valieva won the short program with a new personal best score of 84.19, 2.95 points ahead of Elizaveta Tuktamysheva in second place. In the free skate, she skated a clean program with three quads and only one minor mistake in her triple Axel. Once again, she set a new world record for the women's free skate (180.89) and total score (265.08). Valieva's second assignment of the season was the 2021 Rostelecom Cup, held this year at Sochi's Iceberg Skating Palace, the host venue for skating events at the 2014 Winter Olympics, instead of in Moscow as usual. In the short program, she scored 87.42 points, breaking Alena Kostornaia's previous world record of 85.45. She went on to raise the world records in the free skate (185.29) and total score (272.71). Her score was higher than that of the men's event winner, fellow Sambo-70 skater Morisi Kvitelashvili of Georgia, despite men's Program Component Score (PCS) being scaled 20% points higher. Valieva's results qualified her to the Grand Prix Final, which was subsequently cancelled due to travel and gathering restrictions prompted by the spread of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On 24 December, Valieva placed first in the short program at the 2022 Russian Championships, nearly 10 points ahead of Shcherbakova in second place. She scored 193.10 for her free skate, with a gold medal-winning score of 283.48 points, nearly 35 points ahead of silver medalist Alexandra Trusova. She remarked afterward, "I did almost my maximum." As national champion, she was guaranteed a berth on the Russian Olympic team. Valieva made her European Championships debut in January 2022 in Tallinn, Estonia. She finished first in the short program with a clean skate and extended her world record score by over three points to become the first woman to break the 90-point barrier. In the free skate, Valieva fell on her triple Axel attempt for the second time in competition this season, but skated the rest of her program cleanly to narrowly win the segment over teammates Shcherbakova and Trusova and take the European title. On 20 January, she was officially named to the Russian Olympic team.

Selected as the Russian entry in the women's segments of the Olympic team event, Valieva began the 2022 Winter Olympics with a first-place finish in the short program with a clean triple Axel, scoring near her own world record. Valieva placed four ordinals above American skater Karen Chen, moving the Russian team into first place in the competition at the end of the short program segments. She was chosen for the women's free skate in the team event as well, winning the segment with a program that included two clean quadruple jumps (Salchow and toe loop) and a triple Axel, albeit with a fall on a second quadruple toe loop attempt. Her score was over 30 points clear of second-place finisher Kaori Sakamoto of Japan. Valieva became the first woman to land a quadruple jump at the Olympic Games. The ROC team won the team event, but the medal ceremony was postponed pending official investigation of filed allegations concerning possible doping, though Valieva was given permission to compete while the investigation is still in progress.

During the short program in the women's singles event at the Winter Olympics on 15 February, Valieva placed first ahead of Russian compatriot Shcherbakova in spite of faltering during a triple Axel though not falling. During the free skate on 17 February, she stumbled or fell at least four times as she skated to Boléro. She wept as she left the ice and did not earn a place in the top three, finishing in fourth place, behind her compatriots Shcherbakova and Trusova, who came first and second, and bronze medalist Sakamoto.