Kamila Valieva’s Teammate Cuts Ties With ‘Cruel’ Russian Coach Two Years After Praising Her At Beijing Olympics

The world of figure skating is an alluring place where poise meets sheer athleticism. In this world, two Russian figure skaters have made a wave. Anna Shcherbakova and Kamila Valieva, teammates at the 2022 Russian Championships and the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, took the world by storm with their power-packed performances.

At the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Shcherbakova secured the gold medal, attaining the title of Olympic champion, surpassing her teammate Alexandra Trusova and Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto. Two years after this grand moment when she acknowledged her coach for her triumph, Anna Shcherbakova has now shifted her allegiance to 2024.

Kamila Valieva’s Olympic teammate Anna Shcherbakova moves on in 2024

A post on X by an account called Shshsh (@daughter_ofsun1) pointed out how Anna Shcherbakova, the 19-year-old figure skating icon, has shifted her allegiance from coach Eteri Tutberidze. The post stated, “Anna Shcherbakova unfollowed Eteri Tutberidze. I’m so happy🤩” and conveyed that  Eteri Tutberidze was no longer on her follow list on Instagram. This revelation follows a Vogue interview back in 2022 with Shcherbakova and Kamila Valieva, where Shcherbakova shared, “Eteri Georgievna teaches us to do all the work properly. Only perfection she considers an acceptable quality – nothing else.”

She continued, “It’s impossible to be perfect every day, so Eteri Georgievna praises extremely rarely. “ Shcherbakova also opened up about an instance where Tutberidze provided feedback on her performance through a printout. Instead of verbal praise, Tutberidze wrote “Well done!” on the printout after Shcherbakova’s free program in training. So, what prompted the shift in allegiance?

What’s the reason behind Shcherbakova unfollowing Eteri Tutberidze?

Kamila Valieva’s doping penalty has brought Russian coach Eteri Tutberidze under public scrutiny. The doping incident has raised doubts about Tutberidze’s coaching methods and has prompted questions about the seriousness of the situation. Although Tutberidze’s role in doping incidents was not linked, her training regimen came under scrutiny. This has led to a closer examination of Tutberidze’s coaching philosophy, particularly her meticulous supervision of skaters’ weights and her strenuous, repeated training. There is also an old video that has come up where Eteri Tutberidze seemed to be scolding Kamila Valieva during the Olympics when she didn’t perform well in her routine.

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In the video, Tutberidze was seen asking her, “Why did you stop fighting? Explain it to me-Why? You let it go after that axel. Why?” Explaining her methods and being asked to rate their toughness, Tutberidze once shared, “I do not consider our team or our methods to be harsh or even more so cruel. Therefore, I will probably give it a rating of 3 out of 10.” Could this be the reason behind the shift? Though the reason behind Anna Shcherbakova’s unfollowing of Eteri Tutberidze on social media remains unknown, fans eagerly anticipate the achievements of this 19-year-old prodigy as the Olympic year of 2024 unfolds.

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