Kamila Valieva

Kamila Valeryevna Valieva (Russian: Камила Валерьевна Валиева [vɐˈlʲi(ɪ̯)ɪvə], born 26 April 2006) is a Russian figure skater. She is the 2021 Rostelecom Cup champion, the 2021 Skate Canada champion, the 2020 Junior World champion, the 2019–20 Junior Grand Prix Final champion and the 2021 Russian national silver medalist.

During the 2022 Winter Olympics, a sample that Valieva had submitted for a drug test in December tested positive for trimetazidine. On 29 January 2024, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled in Valieva's doping case involving the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA). The International Skating Union (ISU) and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) imposed a four-year ban on Valieva backdated to 25 December 2021, and disqualified her of all competitive results from that date, including the first-place finishes at the 2022 European Figure Skating Championships and the 2022 Olympic team event.

Even with the above suspension and disqualification taken into account, Valieva is the current world record holder for the women's short program, free skating, and total scores. She has set seven 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), and the first to break the 170- and 180-point thresholds in the free skate. 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.

Personal life

Valieva was born on 26 April 2006 in Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. She is of Volga Tatar ethnicity. Her patronym is the Russian "Valeryevna", but according to relatives her biological father is a Tatar named Ravil, a "military man who now lives in Crimea".

Valieva has one pet dog, a Pomeranian named Lëva (Lyova), gifted to her in 2019 by fans. Valieva was enrolled in rhythmic gymnastics, ballet, and figure skating classes at an early age by her mother but was encouraged to focus solely on skating after turning five. She named Nathan Chen as one of the skaters whose technique and ability she admires. Along with her teammate Alexandra Trusova, she prefers to use white Edea Piano skating boots with silver blades in competition.

At the time of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Valieva was 1.6 m (5 ft 3 in) tall.

Career

Early career

Valieva began skating in 2009 in RSDUSSHOR in Kazan. Ksenia Ivanova first coached her, followed by Marina Kudriavtseva and Igor Lyutikov, and Natalia Dubinskaya. When she turned six, her parents moved her to Moscow to train at SSHOR Moskvich. In the spring of 2018, Valieva switched skating clubs to Sambo-70, where Eteri Tutberidze allowed Valieva to join her group. Videos are available of Valieva's first competition at age 4 as well as a later one at age 9.

In the 2018–19 season, before 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.

2019–2020 season: Junior World champion

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 Aliona 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.

Before 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, "there was a little mistake on the toe loop, but basically, I am pleased with my performance."

2020–2021 season

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 canceled 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.

2021–2022 season: Beijing Olympics

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).