'Cold' coach back at Olympics after Valieva scandal

Controversial figure skating coach Eteri Tutberidze has officially secured her return to the Olympic stage for the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Games, despite the global outrage following the Kamila Valieva doping scandal at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach had previously criticized Tutberidze’s "chilling" and distant treatment of the then-15-year-old Valieva after her error-strewn free skate, which took place under the immense pressure of a positive drug test revelation. Tutberidze’s reappearance in the Olympic cycle marks a significant moment for the sport as it continues to grapple with the fallout of the Russian skating program's disciplinary methods. The coach, known for her rigorous and often polarizing "Sambo-70" training camp in Moscow, has produced a generation of world-class skaters, yet her career has been shadowed by allegations of athlete mistreatment and the short longevity of her students. The 2022 Beijing Games served as a boiling point when Valieva, the gold-medal favorite, was allowed to compete despite testing positive for the banned substance trimetazidine. When Valieva crumbled during her performance and finished fourth, Tutberidze was seen on global television rebuking the distraught teenager rather than offering comfort, leading to widespread calls for reform in the coaching of minors. While Russian and Belarusian athletes currently face various restrictions and bans due to the ongoing geopolitical situation in Ukraine, Tutberidze’s presence in the lead-up to 2026 suggests she remains the dominant force in high-level figure skating. Her return raises critical questions about the effectiveness of the protective measures promised by international sporting bodies following the Beijing incident. Observers are closely watching whether the ISU (International Skating Union) and the IOC will implement stricter age minimums or behavioral codes of conduct to prevent a repeat of the scenes that many experts argued tarnished the spirit of the previous Winter Games.