'Sotnikova, who stole Kim Yuna's gold, calls doping-controversy athlete Valieva "You are our hero"'

A post by Russian former figure skater Adelina Sotnikova.
[Photo by Adelina Sotnikova, social media capture]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seoyoung Kwon] Adelina Sotnikova, a former Russian figure skater who won the gold medal amid various controversies at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, called Kamila Valieva, who sparked a doping controversy, a "hero."

On the 18th (Korean time), Sotnikova sent congratulatory messages to the Russian skaters who medaled in the women's singles figure skating at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics through her social media (SNS). She mentioned to Anna Shcherbakova, who won the gold medal, "Welcome to the Olympic champion club," and to Alexandra Trusova, who took the silver medal, she said, "You landed four quadruple jumps for the first time ever," and "I want to give you the gold medal."

Sotnikova also referred to Kamila Valieva, who competed in the Olympics despite testing positive for doping and causing controversy. She said, "I don't know how a young girl like Valieva endured all of this," adding, "Valieva proved that she can overcome any situation," and "Go out and fight until the end. You are our hero." Earlier, Valieva made multiple mistakes in the women's free skating event held on the 17th and finished in 4th place.

Meanwhile, Sotnikova won the gold medal with a score of 224.59 points in the women's singles figure skating at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics despite unstable performance. At that time, Sotnikova was embroiled in a biased judging controversy after surpassing Kim Yuna, who was aiming for a second consecutive Olympic gold, but her skills declined significantly afterward, and she announced her retirement in 2018.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.