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What sort of coaching technique is it when a coach confronts moderately than comforts a sobbing 15-year-old on the Olympic Video games?
“Chilling”, in keeping with the Worldwide Olympic Committee. “Key” for athletes to realize victory, in keeping with the Russian authorities.
The Eteri Tutberidze variety, in keeping with what tens of millions witnessed this week.
That and all of the occasions surrounding her younger skater Kamila Valieva at these Beijing Winter Olympics have thrust the highlight on a coach who has produced a string of younger champions lately.
So what do we all know concerning the Russian and her strategies? And can something now change?
A former ice dancer & award-winning coach
Tutberidze, 47, is a former ice dancer who then lived in the USA within the Nineties for six years working in ice reveals.
Whereas there she was caught up within the 1995 Oklahoma Metropolis bombing, which killed 168 folks. She and her troupe had been staying over the highway from the federal constructing the place the blast occurred and acquired compensation as a sufferer of the assault.
Whereas within the US, she had a daughter, Diana Davis, who competed at Beijing 2022 within the ice dance, ending 14th together with Gleg Smolkin. Davis just isn’t educated by her mom.
Tutberidze started constructing a training profession within the US however then moved again to Russia, finally becoming a member of the Sambo-70 membership in Moscow. It was solely eight years in the past, when she coached 15-year-old Yulia Lipnitskaya to staff gold with Russia at Sochi 2014, that she began to develop into a family identify.
She has since gained many teaching awards, together with the Worldwide Skating Union’s (ISU) coach of the 12 months accolade in 2020 and a state award in 2018 that was offered to her by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The ISU on the time described her as a “gifted coach”, who has “given a lot energy and dedication to her athletes this season”.
Early success, early retirement
What units Tutberidze’s skaters aside from others on the world stage is their age and athleticism.
Lipnitskaya’s 2014 Olympic success was adopted in 2018 by Alina Zagitova, who was 15 when she gained gold, forward of 18-year-old silver medallist Evgenia Medvedeva.
Pre-Beijing, every little thing was pointing to a clear sweep by Russian youngsters of the rostrum locations. They’d completed simply that on the European championships in January with Valieva ending forward of Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova.
As a substitute it was 17-year-olds Shcherbakova and Trusova who took the gold and silver right here, with Valieva ending fourth after an error-strewn efficiency in Thursday’s free skate following an extremely tough 10 days through which she had been allowed by a courtroom to proceed competing regardless of the revelation she had failed a medication check.
The trio are often known as the ‘quad squad’ as a result of all of them carry out quadruple jumps, that are the toughest and really uncommon in girls’s determine skating. They had been the one ones of the 25 skaters competing within the particular person occasion to try any.
However it isn’t solely their younger age once they win that’s notable underneath Tutberidze. They’re additionally usually nonetheless youngsters once they retire.
Her athletes have a fame in skating circles of being “disposable” – that’s the phrase Austrian 1972 determine skating champion Beatrix Shuba as soon as used – and a part of a manufacturing line.
It’s not actually a shock that they don’t final lengthy – by their nature, these high-scoring quads – rotating 4 instances mid-air – are a lot simpler to do when you’ve got a small physique with slender hips and shoulders.
“It’s the little woman our bodies that permit that sort of rotation to occur, it’s the similar factor in gymnastics,” stated 1980 determine skating champion and BBC commentator Robin Cousins.
“With the lads, 30 12 months olds can do them [quads], the male physiology appears to be completely different and permits for the longevity that the feminine physique would not.”
If Valieva’s failed medicine check leads to a ban, she could be hanging up her skates early, whereas Trusova stated she was contemplating her future after an indignant outburst over lacking out on gold the place she stated “I hate this sport, I hate all of it”.
Tutberidze’s ‘robust’ strategies
In an interview Tutberidze gave to Russia’s Channel One in 2018, she stated she makes champions by “love” not “strictness”.
She additionally stated that she “would not demand issues” however needs to make athletes “really feel unhappy with their failure to finish a job” in order that “they really feel disgust inside them”.
Medvedeva stated final 12 months that Tutberidze’s strategies “work however as you grow old, with yearly it is more durable to place up with it” and that she was additionally “half-starving” at instances.
When Lipnitskaya retired at 17, she began remedy for anorexia, whereas Medvedeva, who has stated she wanted the “toughness” of Tutberidze’s teaching fashion as a way to succeed, has completely broken her again.
How is Tutberidze seen following the Valieva case?
IOC president Thomas Bach stated it “doesn’t give me a lot confidence” in Valieva’s entourage after seeing how she was provided no consolation when she stepped off the ice sobbing on Thursday – with Tutberidze as an alternative asking her “why did you cease preventing?”.
“After I noticed how she was acquired by her closest entourage with what seemed to be an amazing coldness, it was chilling to see this, moderately than giving her consolation, moderately than to attempt to assist her,” stated Bach.
In response to Bach, the deputy prime minister of Russia, Dmitry Chernyshenko, stated: “We’re deeply dissatisfied to see an IOC president weave his personal fictional narrative on the sentiments of our athletes, after which current these publicly because the voice of the IOC.
“That is frankly inappropriate and fallacious. Win or lose we all know our athletes are world-beating, they usually do too.”
Valiera’s entourage can be underneath scrutiny in relation to the anti-doping investigation. The World Anti-Doping Company says it is going to be launching an investigation into coaches, medical doctors and another adults surrounding her.
That appears prone to embody coaches Sergei Dudakov and Daniil Gleikhengauz, who’ve been in Beijing, and in addition staff physician Filipp Shvetsky.
Is it time to boost the minimal age to compete?
The Valieva case has left many now questioning whether or not it’s time to elevate the minimal age of seniors within the sport from 15 – each by way of defending the kids but in addition by way of making it a stage enjoying subject concerning the jumps they will do.
Youngsters have now gained the ladies’s singles gold medal in seven of the previous eight Olympics.
“I completely imagine that there ought to be an age restrict,” American skater Mariah Bell stated this week. “I do know for me, personally, I do know once you’re rising there’s a whole lot of adjustments occurring. There are minors competing… that is a complete completely different factor.”
Her coach Adam Rippon added: “If there are two people who find themselves competing in opposition to one another, like a girl that will get a interval and has breasts and has hips in opposition to a younger little woman who’s 80 kilos, is it a good enjoying subject?”
Age limits are decided by sports activities’ particular person federations, moderately than the IOC, so it could be as much as the Worldwide Skating Union.
May it even be the quadruple bounce which may want eager about – what’s going to the teaching strategies be if older skaters try to realize a younger skater’s bounce?
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