MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded figure skating coach Eteri Tutberidze one of the country’s highest honors Monday, nearly a year after a doping case involving one of her top skaters overshadowed the Winter Olympics.
A presidential decree dated Jan. 26 but published Monday lists Tutberidze, 48, among three people awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky “for ensuring the successful training of athletes who achieved high sporting accomplishments” at the Winter Olympics in Beijing in Feb. 2022.
Tutberidze has coached a series of leading skaters including 2018 Olympic champion Alina Zagitova and 2022 gold medalist Anna Shcherbakova. However, she has faced scrutiny over the relatively short careers of her teenaged skaters and a high rate of injuries.
Tutberidze-trained skater Kamila Valieva was a favorite for the gold medal ahead of the Beijing Olympics, and helped the Russian team win gold in the team event before a doping test taken before the Games came back positive. She was allowed to skate in the women’s competition on appeal and placed fourth.
As the 15-year-old left the ice, Tutberidze questioned her, asking why she had “let it go”. International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach later said he had been “disturbed” by what he had seen.
The World Anti-Doping Agency said last month it was considering appealing Valieva’s case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport after a Russian disciplinary panel declined to impose a ban. The uncertainty over the results means that no medal ceremony has yet been held for the Olympic team event one year on.
___
More AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports