The president of the International Olympic Committee on Friday called the treatment of a teenage Russian figure skater by her coaches “chilling” a day after the skater, Kamila Valieva, tumbled out of medal contention at the Beijing Olympics with an error-strewn performance in the women’s singles competition. The comments quickly drew an angry response from a top Russian government official.
Breaking his silence on the Valieva case more than a week after it was first revealed that the 15-year-old skater had tested positive for a banned drug, the president, Thomas Bach, shared at a news conference in Beijing that he had been uncomfortable watching the young Olympian melt down during her free skate Thursday night. Valieva had entered the night as the gold medal favorite but stumbled…
