Sawt Falasteen - Russian figure skating prodigy Valieva set for comeback -- but not at Olympics

Aged just 15 years she had propelled Russia to team gold at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, becoming the first skater to land a quadruple jump in an Olympic competition.

But that medal and all her other titles from December 2021 onwards were stripped after it emerged she had failed a doping test before the Winter Olympics, a decision the Kremlin denounced as "politicised".

Praised as "talented" and "magnificent" by Russia's top skating coaches, she makes her long-awaited return at the Jumping Championships in Moscow, after her four-year ban expired in December, but she will miss out on the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics starting next week.

"I am returning to the big ice," the skater from Kazan announced on Telegram earlier this month, her formerly brunette hair now streaked with blonde highlights.

"Of course, I'm very excited, but I'm even more looking forward to feeling the competitive thrill again."

Her social media has been awash with posts advertising her imminent return.

"Valieva's back," her fans celebrated on social media, some saying they were "crying with happiness".

Valieva's four-year retrospective suspension ended on December 25 at midnight.

That day, the skater -- whose Telegram channel has almost 150,000 subscribers -- posted a photo of herself in a room bedecked with pink-and-white bouquets.

In the midst of them was a heart-shaped balloon with the words: "It's only just beginning."

Valieva tested positive for the banned heart medication trimetazidine following the Russian Figure Skating Championships in December 2021.

The medicine, commonly known as TMZ, is used to treat angina but is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) as a performance-enhancing drug.

The case only came to light in February 2022 during the Beijing Olympics -- a day after Russia's victory in the team event, in which Valieva became the first skater to land a quadruple jump in an Olympic competition.

Valieva told an arbitration panel she tested positive because of "contamination" from her grandfather's heart medicine.

- Coaching change -

The scandal put intense pressure on Valieva during the Games.

A strong favourite to win the individual title, she placed fourth after an error-strewn free skate handed her Russian teammate Anna Shcherbakova gold.

The performance left her in tears, with her coach Eteri Tutberidze later telling her on live television: "Why did you let everything go like that?"

The then-head of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, said after that she had faced "tremendous coldness" from the other athletes.

Tutberidze also came under criticism, with Valieva later leaving her and joining the prestigious Navka skating academy in Moscow, where she has been training since.

It was at Navka's ice shows, among them "Swan Lake", that the skater has performed for the past two years.

Her performance as the Rat Queen in "The Nutcracker" for almost a month drew praise for its sophistication.

She is expected to compete for the individual title at the Russian Jump Championships, as well a duo competition alongside Mark Kondratiuk, her partner in "The Nutcracker".

Valieva has also kept herself busy with charity work, and in December hosted a popular Russian song festival for the third consecutive year.

Alexander Zhulin, one of Russia's top figure skating coaches and an Olympic medallist, said he was "convinced that Valieva will be able to regain her magnificent form".

However he questioned whether she would have the "motivation" to perform at a time when the majority of Russian athletes are banned from international competition due to the large-scale Russian offensive in Ukraine launched in February 2022.

Now aged 19, Valieva will have to wait until the 2030 Winter Games to make her Olympic return.

But pundits and fans have high hopes for her return, having missed out on qualifiers for next month's Winter Games.

"Kamila Valieva is a strong, courageous, and talented girl," legendary Russian coach Tatiana Tarasova said in a media interview.

"This will be our weapon against the whole world."

V.Said--SF-PST