Remember when you were fifteen years old? Remember all the personal and hurtful angst that came with being that age? Now imagine dealing with it in a public forum. Imagine having millions of people watch your most painful moments.

The 2022 Olympic Women’s Figure Skating program has been a mess from the start. The moment that Russian star Kamila Valiera tested positive for a banned substance, she should have been disqualified from the competition. It wasn’t fair to her competitors and the increased spotlight wasn’t fair to her.

That said, what happened last night was brutal to watch. A girl that many experts have said could be the best figure skater of all-time was broken. And the worst thing about this is the adults who could and should have helped her, spectacularly failed her. You can blame the Court of Arbitration for Sport who allowed her to skate after the International Olympic Committee wanted her disqualified. You can blame her coach, Eteri Tutberidze, who instead of comforting a young teenager in distress, immediately berated her and took apart her performance. As Tara Lipinski said, “It makes me angry that the adults around her weren’t able to make better decisions.” In an era where the emphasis is on the mental health of athletes, no one looked out for her.

I have no idea what the future holds for Kamila Valieva. She may be facing a ban from competition due to her positive test result. She may not want to continue her career as a figure skater after this; none of the Russian skaters looked happy afterwards, did they? Or she may go on to compete in more Olympics and win multiple medals. We’ll just have to wait and see . But one thing is certain, the fifteen year old girl needs a lot of help and empathy. Both were in short supply yesterday.

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