Skating On Thin Ice Ends In Tears

Rivals insist Games have been tainted as Russian leads after positive test

- Alex Spink

WINTER OLYMPICS

As Kamila Valieva finished her figure skating routine and burst into tears, the coach of one of her opponents declared the integrity of the Olympics ruined.

The Russian 15-year-old, who tested positive for a banned drug yet was still allowed to compete, leads the competition as expected at the halfway point.

But if she or the Russian team thought the fury had subsided, they were very much mistaken.

Adam Rippon, coach of 11th-placed American skater Mariah Bell, didn't hold back.

He said: “Dirty cheaters and we are accommodating them. I don't know how the Olympics recovers from this.

Rippon, a two-time former World Junior champion, did not mince his words as Valieva moved two points clear of a second Russian skater, Anna Shcherbakova.

He said: “What this says is that the team around her are child abusers.