Olympic Bloodsport - The Dominance of Teenage Bodies in Women's Figure Skating
Vložit
- čas přidán 6. 02. 2022
- Kamila Valieva tested positive for trimetazidine after winning the Team gold medal. She was briefly suspended but eventually allowed to compete in the individual events. The IOC announced that the medal ceremony would be canceled if she made the podium due to ongoing investigation. Subsequently, Valieva would stumble through both her performances and place fourth.
The presence of trimetazidine implies one of two things - either Kamila indeed has a dangerous heart condition that should have prevented her from participating in competitive sports, or she was given a medication that was never intended for use by minors. Either way, not only has her coaching staff exploited and betrayed her, the dark implications of her achievements have tainted the sport forever. So many girls damaged their bodies trying to obtain the same results, not knowing that it was never a matter of dedication or willpower but the willingness to harm one's body and the principles of the sport. This video is dedicated to them.
This video is under fair use. Detailed attributions on our website coming soon.
Music:
Bolero by Maurice Ravel
Nureyev by Ilan Eshkeri
Libertango by Astor Piazzolla
In the Hall of Mountain King by Edvard Grieg
#Olympics #Beijing2022 #Olympic #Figureskating #KamilaValieva #SashaTrusova #AlexandraTrusova #Annashcherbakova #Alionakostornaia #Dariausacheva #Mayakhromykh #adeliapetrosian #SofiaAkateva #evgeniamedvedeva #alinazagitova #yulialipnitskaya #teamtutberidze #eteritutberidze #vladmirputin #putin #russia #ukraine #womensevents #alysaliu #wakabahiguchi #youngyou #nathenchen #yuzuruhanyu #jasonbrown #evgeniplushenko #angelsofplushenko #yagudin #papadakiscizeron #mariefrance #iceacademyofmontreal #tamaramoskvina #michinagalliamov #brianorser
#tripleaxel #quad #davelease #theskatinglesson #christinebrennan - Sport
something else you didn't mention, eteri teaches a technique that is flawed. her skaters jump using their backs, and heavily pe rotate their jumps. meaning that when her skaters perform a triple jump, only 2 of those rotations happen once their feet have actually left the ground. the International Skating Union is not dumb, they can notice issues like this. but they don't. which further encourages trainers like Eteri to take advantage of young bodies. Not only does the ISU turn a blind eye to this but it's being borderline encouraged since Russian skaters are NOTORIOUSLY overscored. skaters under tutberidze have attempted to leave her for other trainers in the past but always end up coming back because they can't score as well once they've lost their "extra tutberidze points." this sport is so corrupt.
Not to mention full blade assistance… Shcherbakovas jumps need to be checked 😭
@@yugiohlegend Ugh, yes. Eteri has created a literal monopoly on womens singles figure skating. Grown, ethically trained women are not able to compete with Eteris girls (especially with the ISU favoritism)...I mean just look at any major competition, junior or senior, from the past few years. Her skaters are literally just playing musical chairs with gold bronze and silver at this point. Her twisted success is pushing this sport in such a dangerous direction and things won't change until the ISU does SOMETHING...
the senior age needs to be raised from 15 to 17, quads need to be banned from junior competition (for women, atleast), Sambo 70 (tutberidzes training club in Russia) needs to be investigated for child abuse and shut the fuck down, and the ISU needs some serious reforms put in place.
But hey, Eteri was given the "best coach award" by the ISU in 2020 (you know, the same year she made Scherbakova compete with a high fever whilst recovering from covid, and then had to use smelling salts to keep her awake as she gasped for breath and nearly passed out at the end of her performance.) So clearly ISU intervention isn't happening any time soon.
And the stuff with Kamila Valieva this year makes this all even more wild. Their method of "protecting her" after the doping scandal was allowing her to compete anyway? Not only is that super unfair to the other skaters but it's SUPER fucking dangerous. Like yeah good job guys, you essentially just sent out a message to every FS coach in the world that trainers can get away with feeding their underage skaters cocktails of performance enhancing drugs at the expense of their own physical and mental well-beings.... way to "protect" those young girls guys...good thinking.
@@alannahood4107 I agree with nearly everything you said. This WHOLE situation is bullshit and there are so many layers to it. I personally don’t think that changing the senior age will change much, especially by 2 years. Girls will still be pushed to their limits and will be forced to make it to senior competing age (at least I feel). Eteri might *possibly* treat her students a bit better before they turn 17 so they can make it to the point of competition but after they turn 17 I can’t imagine she’d hold back, but who’s to say she’d change even in the slightest. We can only wish I guess
FACTS FACTS FACTS
And how those girls get almost +5 GOE when the others barely make 2. It’s astounding
Since it’s “women’s” figure skating, all should be 18 years and over. This would stop the abuse do the children.
Yes very true. The IOC admitted that that Kamila was a child and therefore had special treatment so she shouldn't even have been competing in Women's Figure Skating. It's not Girls Figure Skating
The olympics should be the best athletes in the world: whether they are 12 or 22. Gladiators were willing to put their lives on the line for sport hundreds of years ago, why should modern athletes be different? There will always be those willing to pay the price. They should be celebrated like the heroes they are.
@@waltlock8805 the difference is that kids can't really consent to that. many children start competing when they're young, and then their parents force them to keep going, especially as they become more successful and eventually become the main breadwinner in their family. this isn't with sports, but the former actress jennette mccurdy is a great example of this. she started acting as a kid and thought it was fun, but eventually became the main breadwinner and was forced to continue by her parents, even as she developed a serious eating disorder at 11 years old. she has now completely retired from acting and is vocal about the abuse she and many other child actors experienced at the hands of their parents and producers who forced them to stay in the industry. children just don't have the agency to decide they want to put their lives on the line for sport. there's too much room for them to be coerced and abused by their parents and coaches
@@waltlock8805 no. Children can't consent to permanent damage to their bodies as they can't grasp the consequences in full.
@@AnnaEmilka All sports risk permanent damage. Hell, life is risk. That's why they have parents to guide them (i know that doesn't always work as well as it should). I find it funny how poor kids can manage running a household at 12, but rich kids can't consent to anything because their brains aren't done yet.
Let the Olympics be for the best of the best.
It is not the limit of females bodies previously thought possible being broken, it is female bodies being broken. Know the difference.
This. There's no limitation on what Coaches like Eteri are trying to do to their girls. When they can't reach puberty because their bodies aren't in a healthy state to achieve it, something is horribly wrong. If it was anything but an Olympic sport, we'd typically call that "child abuse." These girls are being broken for the sake of "success" they might not even achieve.
+ it's not precisely female bodies, but rather female-teenagers bodies (yep, very injured), which is a different thing.
not really, some women can do the stuff, but very few. Very few is the definition of Olympic bodies. The exploitation of children, NFL style is borderline criminal and at least the NFL players now know the risk and many are pay enough for early nonforced retirement.
Thank you for this insightful commentary. I was watching this 15 year old girl doing her incredibly hard programme and asking myself, if she will be able to walk when she is in her thirties. Also I recognised her talent and hard work, I still fear that these young girls don‘t know how high the price is they are paying.
Why do you think,they don't know the high price?
@@trickortripslao8607 it is on record that Eteri their coach uses psychological manipulation like that they are getting an Olympic medal for their future children while putting them on a diet that can cause amenorrhea often leaving the girls infertile. There is an over two hour documentary that goes into depth on the psychological manipulation she does like not allowing the young girls to see their parents, making the girls absolutely terrified if they make one mistake, and showing how obsessed the girls are with not gaining weight or not going through puberty. My daughter getting a gold medal is not worth the emotional and physical damage involved. Many of these girls retire early due to permanent back injuries that leave them in pain most of their lives, they often have to go to clinics to treat amenorrhea and eating disorders.
@@lovetobe6118 Can I get the name of thee documentary? Thanks.
@@lovetobe6118 yup Eteri bragged about the powdered diet Yulia was on. She didn’t eat actual food often at all. Eteri is a sick child abusing hag.
@@thedog5k Here is the first part on CZcams. czcams.com/video/FqtHSvkPWPk/video.html
"Eteri is a failed ice dancer"
Ohhhhhh, oh no, oh well, that explains it.
She was a skater, but she's grown up by almost 20cm in a year. She tried to dance, but she didn't like the ice dancing. She always love being a skater, but she couldn't be one due to circumstances. So she's not a failed ice dancer, and she tried to do this for only a few months.
Yeah, now she makes champions out of her athletes and failed skaters out of the rest of the world ))))
To be fair, most coaches are “failed ex skaters “. Take Tarasova (5 Olympic gold medals as a coach including men, dancing and pairs), she was never an international champion herself.
@@elenamastiukova2787 I can't recall Tarasova doping teenagers though.
@@bridgetbinion8494 how many teens do you recall Eteri doping? Valieva’s one and only case in over 10 years doesn’t prove her work is worth nothing. Take Trusova, Kostornaya, Medvedeva, Scherbakova, Zagitova, Lipnitskaya and many more - all of them tested numerous times, all incredible talents whom Eteri developed into outstanding champions.
If anything, Valieva was and is one of a kind and she could win with triples only, she didn’t need doping. All this story being suspended and brought to public during Olympics is just too much of a coincidence
Eteri's success is not based on her skill or technical genius, but her willingness to ruthlessly abuse young athletes to get her next designer scarf. Someone needs to stop her. It won't be the judges who overscore all her athletes. It won't be the ISU who just named her Coach of the Year. It won't be the Russian Federation who favors her team above all others. It won't be any of the other power hungry narcissistic coaches who feed off her for drama and clout. It won't be Dave who loves her anyway because her bs pays his bills.
Lol nobody has ever said that she abuses someone. Where did you you find that lol
@@DrScarface74 that’s all anyone says, because she does
@@lilyastor5980 oh yeah such an absurd argument “anyone says that”. How ridiculous to say something about the coach who trained several Olympic champions. Instead of admiring her coaching talent and talents of her athletes you pathetically condemn this lady
@@ninatuttle6548 You think that only hitting someone is abuse? She was shown to be abusing them right in this video. Open your eyes.
@@gcooper642 and if she is such an abuser, then why the parents of these young girls keep bringing their children to this coach for training year after year ? And no parent ever complained about her being abusive to the kids? If you don’t like her teaching style then it is just your opinion, nothing more
I find it interesting that it's looked at as shattering the limit of women's bodies when they're talking about children. The reason why Eteri is constantly replacing skaters is because only girls can physically do what she's requiring of them, once they reach a certain age they're unable to do it anymore (which is why she wants them to maintain the same weight despite the fact that they're growing teens). And her technique is flawed; she teaches her skaters to jump with their backs which has led to many of her girls developing serious back injuries and being forced to retire before they even turn 20. They also heavily pre-rotate their jumps so that they're already rotating before they're even in the air which makes it not really a quad, something that is easily noticed by someone with barely any skating knowledge but conveniently overlooked by judges. Maybe if they got points docked for the bad technique, coaches would stop trying to manipulate young bodies to perform the jump over and over again until they're too injured to do it again. Instead, it's a practice perpetuated by the ISU which has led to women's figure skating to lose a lot of its artistry to focus instead on how many jumps they can do. It's sad how much the sport has changed and how much these young girls are being exploited and then tossed aside when their bodies are too badly damaged by their coach before they're even adults.
Problem is alot of skating insiders and fans alike don't want to face the reality that in all probability quads and the triple axel will always be at the outer limit of what the female body can do because of the unchanging laws of physics and human biology.
Actually 3a can be jumped by grown women, wakaba higuchi landed 2 at this Olympics and she’s 20. Past skaters have jumped them as adults too.
Quads is harder to say…imo with the right training ways and good technique, a quad can be possible. 4t and 4s only, I haven’t seen a single 4lz, or 4f from women that is done with correct technique.
I don’t think with the same consistency though, Eteri camp pretty much changed the name of consistency in figure skating. And we all know their methods.
Figure skating in general needs out with the toxic culture, wrier cmap is and effect of it. Grown women cannot thrive at the top of the sport if this toxic culture stays.
@@dekkacat8517 3a is possible. This Olympics itself had an adult women jump them. Wakaba higuchi. Other women skaters can jump them too past and present who are adults.
Rhe quad is a harder question. Imo if a quad really isn’t possible for a grown women to do, then why expect it?
If having a womens body is a disadvantage in a womens discipline. Then something’s wrong with the standards
@@dekkacat8517 I think women’s sports in general doesn’t face the reality that it’s treated less as a way of building amazing female athletes and more about comparing women to men and treating women and girls as disposable. Women CAN do these moves, they just aren’t given proper nutrition nor encouraged to build proper muscle mass…I have my guesses in the misogyny that fuels that. The wider scope of women’s sports in general you see this time and time again….and people dismiss it as women being the weaker sex instead of admitting the actions that could be clearly changed to improve this.
@@dekkacat8517Exactly. And after quads where to next?? Quins?? Both men and women are now at the very limits of what the human body can do so eventually the sport will be forced to go 'backwards'
Imagine what a wonderful world we would have if these girls could keep they physical health and skate in the olympics into their 30’s like Plushenko did. I would love to see the same faces for more than one Winter Olympics and it honestly is very depressing how such wonderful talent burns out so fast.
No one of these girls could be the next Michelle Kwan.
Would be more boring to have the same old people to watch. These Russian girls make it far more exciting to watch.
@@mbtbd So you enjoy the kid's Olympics ?LoL
@@mbtbd u can tell someone just likes watching girls skate rather than a fan of a sport lol! u know these girls have the ugliest eteri jumps? but thats not important as long as theyre little girls skating haha 🤣🤮
@@baibiebaibea9740 They are not so "little", 17 year olds are not little girls. They are a joy and beauty to watch, and their athletic determination especially Trusova's, is something else. You seem like a jealous person who only knows how to hate those from great foreign nations, perhaps being led around like a fool is support of war. Their performances over the last few years got me into the sport, that of Americans I found comparatively boring. Now I am a fan of the Russians, and seeing angry old ladies like you try to put them down just validates how weak their Western competition is, though most anyone who is not a simple bigot against Russians can watch either the comparitive artistry or athleticism and grace and discover the same.
Think about how long ago it feels that Yulia Lipnitskaya was skating. She’s only 24 years old this year. If she was trained responsibly, it’s totally feasible that she could have still been skating today, in 2022 and beyond. It’s not out of the realm of reality at all.
Yet, skaters get pushed out of the sport so early, that since Lipnitskaya retired, there have been 4 ‘generations’ of Russia skating stars (Medvedeva, Zagitova, 3A, Kamila Valieva). That, to me, is insane.
It's so messed up. Most women figure skaters peak in their early 20s. These Russian girls deserve better
It's the same with gymnasts as well.
Yeah. Kaori Sakamoto’s 23 now and she has been slaying without a ultra-c element. Loena Hendrickx just turned 24.
Eteri and her coaching team must be banned for harming their athletes.
They retire at the age of 19 and Yuzuru Hanyu is the youngest (at the age of 19) in 66 years to be an Olympic Champion in men's figure skating. Let that sink in. Both Yuna Kim and Mao Asada competed in the Olympics and stood a chance (one might say one of them even won) at the age of 24.
Athletes take risks to achieve their goals, but these girls are children. They dream, but it turns into a nightmare before they could even comprehend the world.
How could people see this and not stripe away her rights to coach?
It's also equally bad for the other skaters because now to dream to stand a chance to get to the podium, they have to slam their body against the ice and risk being heavily injured.
I like athleticism for the joy it brings and the strength that you feel, but what is this?
"And her beautiful scarecrow hair”, I died 🤣
I’m guessing that was sarcasm. Nothing beautiful about that fried, dyed hair. She needs to go back to her natural color and get some moisture back.
@@brynneholt1990 yeah she looks like a crusty package of ramen noodles lmao
Eteri doesn’t let her skaters drink or even eat anything before the competition because it might affect their jumps. So when Zagitova was testing for the urine test for doping control, she waited for hours but nothing happened because she didn’t drink enough water.
My regards as a gymnast to all the skaters out there. I’ve seen many people decline and get hurt from being pushed very extremely
Figure skater here, getting injured in this sport can be one of the most cruelest and isolating feelings out there. I remember once being forced to compete with a fractured foot, whilst one of my teammates was also forced to compete with a fractured back. The experience left me in unbearable pain, both mentally and physically as i realized that the adults around me simply didnt care. They see us as possible medals and if we're not to deliver, they discard us like trash
male figure skater here, i was forced to start at 3 but learned to love the sport. i can't possibly think of a more cruel sport than this and cannot possibly comprehend how some people don't think it's a sport. I've been bullied and made fun of for years with no end. I can't just tell people I'm a skater because I get called gay, that i'm doing a girls sport, and whatever else you can think of. I can say for sure that if coach finds a better skater who can replace you, you're gone. so simple. out the rink. out the comp.
With us three coming from entertainment backgrounds, you two should look into MMA. They get treated like us but worse and it’s completely normal
So this does not happen only at Crystal and not only in Russia.
@@kadovax6567 yup.
I love watching this post olympics and hearing things like "the 2022 olympics will be historic" and just thinking... oh honey you have no idea what's coming
Or how Valieva will win gold unless disaster strikes. Yeah, about that.
I discovered all this drama after watching Alexandra Trusova's performance of wonder woman at the 2022 gala it really gripped me because she skates with a force and intensity the girl is a real beast on ice in a good way but knowing that maybe this anger could be an obsession for victory or all the pressure and psychological torture she suffers from this woman makes me so sad I hope she changes coach and has a bigger career than the others and I wish all this girls good physical health and mental health
She actually might have a chance to compete past the so called "Eteri expiration date" because her jumps are a least partly based on her strength and her muscles. Most of the other Eteri girls base their jumps on low body weight, which works for a few years but leaves them with physical and probably a lot of psychological issues.
Trusova is awesome, a joy to watch, whatever allowed her to shine, to show her force, can not be all bad -- at least her special gift was given a chance to grow and shine, unlike most here in America. One of the few people I like to watch in this world, Godbless whatever created her.,
She ended up switching coaches after the Olympics. She is saying she’s “taking a break” from competition and hasn’t competed this year. She may come back, but it is unlikely.
How heartbreaking.
I thought Kamila would win. At most, Trusova might, just might have had an outside chance.
But the rollercoaster of the past couple of weeks... Was unexpected and distressful for viewers .. I can't imagine the trauma on the kids and other skaters.
Yes. Gladiator sport. Women's figure skating has become a gladiator sport where the athletes are disposable. There is something extremely unnatural about it all. Humans want to cheer for the human spirit that soars but the conclusion of the 2022 individual women's free skate was far from a celebration of the Olympic spirit.
Olympic motto is faster, higher, stronger. But in women's skating, it is younger, smaller, lighter.
Why do people hate anya so much, what has she ever done lol
@@timluo6120 anya is great, shes just not as young as kamila or as cool as sasha.
Nobody wins.
@@timluo6120 I think she is only criticised as she is arguably the most overscored of Eteri's current skaters in a sport that is already rampant with unfair judging. It is most noticeable at Russian National competitions, but carries through internationally as well. She has been the favourite of the Russian Skating Federation, of Eteri, or of both for the past few seasons, second only to maybe Kami recently.
While all of Eteri's skaters tend to get PCS and GOE boosts and more leniency on edges and underrotation, Anya gets away with much more on her jumps. She has arguably the weakest jumping technique (at least for quads) of the Eteri girls (she is known for her 'flutz') yet she often gets higher GOE than the other skaters who have better jumping technique. Especially in contrast to Trusova, who has the strongest jumping technique of Eteri's skaters, but often gets lower GOE and is called more often for any jumping errors (which is interesting, considering she has the most turbulent relationship with Eteri...).
And in many cases, it is the extra points that Anya earns from these missed calls that push her ahead of her competitors. At the Olympics, for instance, Anya had a number of technical errors that were not called or even reviewed, while most of Sasha's elements were reviewed and marked down accordingly. She was also given higher GOE than Sasha on jumps that Sasha had cleaner/better execution. Many would argue that it should not have been possible, based on her performance, to have scored enough to stay ahead of Sasha's 5 landed quads (even with the deductions on a few of them). Of course, this is all highly debated, and both Sasha and Anya have inflated PCS also.
Anya seems like such a sweet girl, and she is a beautiful skater, but it is so hard to celebrate her wins when it feels undeserved. It would make it so much better if they were to score her somewhat more fairly and she still won that way. But when it is done through obvious missed calls or underscoring other skaters (famously the Japanese skaters are some of the most underscored), it just doesn't feel as earned
The girls aren’t women. That’s a big part of the problem. They should be at least 17 and fully developed before they do such intense training to be the best they can.
It seems that raising the age to 18 or 19 to compete at the senior level would fix a lot of this. Also requiring healthy weight to height ration in the girls (well guys too, but doesn't seem to be a men's issue of eating disorders).
I actually have heard of some men struggling with eating habits and their self image while skating. It's probably more women then men but both for sure. Adam ripping talked in an interview about struggling with weight issues during his carrer
Finally, a true examination of the torture these little girls go through, to get the gold medal for Russia. After 1or 2 years at the top, they have to retire because of crippling injuries sustained during their relentless training, and suffer chronic pain the rest of their life. Is it worthwhile.? I don’t know, but each girl and her family have to decide this, not this dragon of a coach Etari.
This series is much better IMO: czcams.com/video/FqtHSvkPWPk/video.html in depth, addressing the issues far more completely.
@@AndersWatches Seconding Fran's excellent work. This video is good, but Fran really pulled out all the stops and is an *actual* "true examination."
@@_Jay_Maker_ ehm nope. She spreads bullshit like always.
For imperialistic mindset it's worth.
@@_Jay_Maker_ Frans’s videos were great. They explain a lot in detail.
I used to be a competitive figure skater and thankfully I was able to retire sponsored at the age of 29 when COVID hit the US. I always trained falling to avoid injury other than falling on my tailbone which is probably gonna be permanently crooked, but the sport has declined ever since it went the technical route due to the new point system and I think that’s a huge part of the problem. It’s all jumps, jumps, jumps. Artistry takes second place to technicality and that is the problem with figure skating these days. We have sacrificed quality for quantity. In my 8 years of senior competition my goal was the quad loop and in that 8 years I only landed it clean 7x (in practice) for that reason it was never put in my programs, but we’re talking nine hours of ice time seven days a week for 10 years straight….that puts it into perspective.
your closing statement was very powerful and undeniably true. after the women’s event in beijing, i made the decision to stop following the discipline, despite it being my favorite for years now. i can’t bear to go through another quad of abused, doped up girls sweeping the podium as their competitors, who break their bodies trying to catch up to them, stand and watch
With Russia out of the sport, skating may start to heal. The Worlds were noticeably better than the Olympics
Yep, we now have clean skaters who don't have heavily pre rotated quads and aren't bone thin. It's wonderful😊
It’s just criminal what they’ve done. Not only to the girls but to every other skater as well. There were so many skaters who injured themselves trying to catch up with the Russian girls. But how is a clean athlete supposed to catch up with someone using drugs ?
Also they need to raise the age limit for seniors to 18 and ban quads in juniors.
anna and sasha were completely clean and they still got 1st and 2nd place in the olympics. you're just mad that female russian skaters are objectively the best. stop looking for reasons to belittle their achievements.
@@stacyk6984 If they'll have soon-to-be permanent broken backs and legs, it's worth it to give belittlement to that achievement. Not worth being proud if they broke the records by breaking themselves. I'm sorry some don't agree with you that greed for fame/prestige and money is more important.
Obviously you don't care that much about them when seeing this dark side of competitive sports.
"Lets start a global tradition to celebrate sportsmanship, the human body and promote world peace. I'm sure nobody finds a way to screw that up!"
Who can call this WOMENS figure skating when I see children on the ice? 14 - 15 - 16 y old people arent men or women, they are still kids. they in most countries cant even make drivers license nor can they buy something big w/o parents involvement to say yes. I dont count these CHILDREN as men or women. This sports should be done by actual women, Raise the age to 18 to enter this. anything under 18 is simply not adult therefore not a man or woman. also its crazy how nathan chen and yuzuru hanyu are 22 and 27, respectively and still have the glory days in their hands after many many years of being a figure skater and girls get tossed and replaced after 2 seasons. Its crazy how short girls last and how long the men last. it shows definitely that there is some very very obscure thing going on.
Preach!!!
Because mens' and women's is sport terminology to do with sex, not age. Even in the junior ranks and below the divisions are separated into mens and womens, and that is the case for several sports.
This was very informative, and shows how far from the original ideal of the new Olympic Games we have strayed.thank you.🖤🇨🇦
This is clearly abuse,it makes me sick,I really hope it gets addressed.
i stopped watching figure skating after sochi 2014, that was when the rightful gold medalist lost her crown, and after that eteri's dominance using cheap tricks and damaging her skaters' physiques became a part of fs and i wanted nothing to do with it. still going back to yuna's 2010 performances. we'll never have one like her again.
"perhaps he had been far too molested by social hazing to grasp the difference between sass and slander" this is an incredible sentence, damn!
the description - chills. subscribed and can’t wait for more insightful and thought provoking commentary!
This is such a good video. As someone who has recently been taking ice skating lessons and becoming more immersed in the figure skating community, this summarizes exactly how I feel about the sport now
Bolero playing in the background triggered me
I do figure skating as a hobby and I fell wrong 2 weeks ago and shattered my upper arm. I had surgery 1 week ago and was cut from elbow to shoulder but I now suffer from nerve damage that may never heal. I don't know if I will ever skate again for fear of falling like that again.
Take care. God bless you, you will be fine.
This was an excellent video. I hope you make more.
Great video. I wish this had a million views. A very relevant and heartbreaking take on womens figure skating.
My heart breaks for these young girls, their exploitation is just horrific
Obviously there have been many different commentaries about this very subject, but yours was easily the most concise the least dramatized and frankly the most biting and accurate. Very well done.
I've never done sports competitively, so I don't want to assume things I cannot talk about. But I always ask myself, if it is really necessary and okay to push people over their limits? I went to watch the training of young rhythmic gymnasts, some girls were maybe 6 years old, and they were overstretched to the point of crying in pain, but the trainer scolded them for that. And pushing athletes into an0re*ia is just horrible, but apparently not only an issue in figure skating. I for myself cannot understand how you could justify this with the competitiveness. For me, health always comes before competitive achievements... but that might only be for me, as I did never compete in sports, as I said. Idk, maybe some people have the same thoughts and feelings about competitive sports like me.
A couple points about Dave...
• I used to get enraged by some of his commentary, especially with respect to Ashley Wagner, against whom he seemed to have a personal vendetta, and whom he accused of faking an injury to withdrawal mid-competition 😤
• But TSL (Dave & Jonathan) has been at the forefront of the movement to expose the child abuse and even sexual abuse that's rampant in skating -- Eteri's abuses in particular
• I don't believe adult skaters (i.e., people who learn to skate as adults) can do more than single jumps
There are adult skaters who can do doubles and a select few who can do triples I believe.
That is correct. Doubles are only allowed in a difference category in Adults than he's in. But he can do an axel, which he's learning, so over 1 revolution. Funny how the video criticizes personally attacking people, then goes on a strange aside to personally attack Dave. 🤷♀️ Was a good video otherwise.
of course adult skaters can do doubles, i've seen it many times
@@hellstoastt In Championship series, not Pre-Bronze, Bronze, Silver or Gold. You can do an axel in Gold, which is what Dave us in now. He did post working on a double sal, which wasn't bad for a beginner, so much for the commentator's research/mini-vendetta.
We'll generally refrain from commenting but since a lot of people have been responding re: Dave Lease, here are our thoughts underlining the segment on him:
- Just because Dave Lease has spoken out against abuse in figure skating doesn't change the fact that he's an abuser in figure skating. Him alone has been the source of so many toxic rumors - Aliona Kostornaia dating Sergei, Alysa Liu being a child of eugenics, Anna Shcherbakova doping, and so many more... These are all unverified narratives that have plagued young skaters' careers, and they shouldn't be ignored just because Dave has occasionally spoken out for positive change.
- We admire all adult skaters pursuing the sport out of passion and personal fulfillment. Dave's likely overcome a lot of physical limitations to get to where he's as a skater, and we respect that. But these lived experiences have not translated into basic compassion for other athletes whatsoever. It is in our opinion that if a commentator is not above bullying literal children, they are not beyond public ridicule.
Not bolero in the background 💀🤠
If it were up to me, quads would be banned from ladies skating, Eteri would be in prison for child abuse, and Russia would be banned for a decade from all international sport due to their unending doping and judging scandals.
So you are telling me these girls starve themselves in a period of puberty which is crucial for body developement. Would that lead to their body be underdeveloped, and also their brain (which also needs much more glucose than any other part of the body). Are their parents aware of that, and who in the world would sacrifice their full brain and body potential and their health for maximum of 2 years of glory in russia (this sport is not big in other cpuntries).
They unfortunately only find out this when they have been committed to this game. And in a country that gives so many privileges and pays families well it’s no surprise that you would continue if your family is poor
They are forced to starve themselves by a frustrated adult woman
Not just the brain development that might be impacted but also the bone density issue. In Russia since figure skating is so popular, 2 years of glory is enough to get you ice shows job, commentary jobs, etc. and you'll settle for life.
They are taught to fear puberty above all else basically. It’s no wonder the sport attracts so many paedos when a juvenile body is prized and abused.
@@jeebanjeeban87 we actually really don't know if that will last though, since this is a relatively new thing. Figure skaters of old had such longevity, and that allowed them to become household names. Eteri goes through her girls so quickly, how much space will be left five years from now? Will people even remember their names? Maybe some will, but is it enough to keep them rolling in endorsement deals?
I started skating at 36 and some coaches at my rink didn't encourage padding. Absolutely new skaters should wear padding!!! Those elite skaters would, but the extra weight is why they don't apparently.
Great video. Funny it came out right before all the womens individuals drama…would love a part 2 of this in the aftermath!
The overt obsession with teenage or even pre-teen girls in this sport is actually disgusting. A *women's* sport should be for *women*. Let children train. Let children dream. Let children be children athletes. Let children grow up with proper nutrition, techniques, and support! Why is it OK to THE WHOLE OLYMPIC WORLD that all of these girls are being used and tossed away - their bodies ruined before they're officially adults??
Has this happened in any male Olympic sports?
The age limit will be raised to 16 next season and 17 after that. Let's hope the ISU and IOC also take action on abusive coaches, or the age limit isn't enough
This obsession with the quad jumps is completely stupid and detracts from how beautiful this sport can be!
Bro your video is amazing. Thanks for it, much love from Vancouver ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Indeed, the Russian teenage wonders are disposable to their trainer. They’re trained from early childhood to basically peak at 15-16yo with techniques that break their body core (back). They’re not meant to last. They’re “retired” by 19 bc either their body basically reach womanhood, which diminishes their ability to jump quads on demand, or bc their bodies are completely broken. They’re “legends” for an Olympic season to never return & soon be forgotten. True legends are meant to last. Sad.
incredible work. this is truly a tragic sport.
Amazing video. I had no idea that it was, indeed, a bloodsport! 😨 But at the same time, the shattering of the preconceived notion that women couldn't perform a Quad-spin is also something I didn't know about. So cool! It's such a cool sport too!
It is cool but it break my heart that most of these girls have eating disorders and permanent injuries. I would never let my daughter break her body and starve herself to become an Olympic gold medalist.
It's just biology, quads require you to spin faster while suspended in the air. In order to rotate 1 more you need to jump higher while also spin faster. With women post puberty body this proves to be difficult because women have wider hips and bigger chest than men. Plus women could not pack more muscle/ have higher muscle/weight ratio than most men.
Eteri and Sergei have deviced a technique that utilizes small body weight and prerotate as much as you can on the ice. Plus they allegedly dope which explains the repetitions and harsh training environments that their skaters managed to endure to achieve consistency.
@@yohanes2034 damn that is pretty cool. But we're they ever confirmed of doping? Or was it just rumours?
Informative video. I want to remind everyone here of ski jumping and what happened there: those (male) athletes starved themselves for a similar reason: to jump as far and high as possible and it was such an extreme detriment to their health that the union had to interfere and require a certain health standard. Only after some really horrible jumper stories and suicide made big splashes in the media around 2000. Suddenly everyone was angry and demanded new rules- It's not perfect now either, but a lot better. I think this sort of hate on a natural development of a body like puberty (one skater said that puberty is their worst enemy) adds oil to the fire. I would fear to see the suicide rate among Eteri's pupils, but that isn't something that would be publicized, no? But let's be honest: if you don't have alternatives, sacrificing your mental and physical health on the sands of a colosseum if you can make sure your family is provided for, that is a huge incentive and has been one since forever. In many countries a certain sport is the one available ticket out of poverty. It's working for those who succeed. No one talks about the thousands who fail and who have nothing to show for the risk they took but a broken body.
What has happened to these Russian girls is criminal in nature. Will someone have to break their neck(as in gymnastics)before something is done about this?
We don't care to watch the sport anymore because the scoring can only be understood by insiders.
The scoring is so messed-up that some marks don't even make sense (per the rulebook).
It's still fixed, even with the new system.
I understand it btw, but the rules aren't followed.
The thing that always strucks me with those Russian figure skaters, their bodies don't look healthy. Their hair looks thinned out (look at Alina Zagitova for instance) from malnutrition and their legs have barely any muscles in comparison to any other professional skater. They do not look like healthy top-athletes....
The Russian girls should go to the kid's Olympics. They have a kid's body and weight so easier to jump, nothing more. They can't stop grow up and everything will be changed. No one could be the next Michelle Kwan.
Love your commentary and delivery ❤ my heart breaks for figure skating. The race to master the quad is breaking the body and spirit of these athletes.
What happened to longevity in a fugure skating career? It's just all so sad.
P.S. this video was amazing my only wish is for more content, staying tuned for more ❤
They should increase the age limit to 18.
Very good, you have a talent for sharing ideas and information. Thank you
Fantastic video! Tears were welling up in my eyes
"disposable coffee cups" might sound mean but isn't it true? as soon as there's nothing left in them they're thrown away.
Raf was merely describing how the girls are treated, not that they ARE disposable.
I appreciate your explanation of the axle jump.
2:25
What a great video, thanks!
Really useful information. Thanks for this video.
Wow! This is such an amazing piece of mastery!
I like Dave…he helps expose abuse and exploitation. He’s also remarkably well informed. You may not like him but he’s got cracking journalist skills and puts time and energy into his videos.
Don't agree. He attacked friends of mine who were doing a pro show on TV once, and the vitriol he spewed-forth about them was nothing short of disgusting. He attacked their physical appearance as well as their skating. That, coming from someone who can't even skate is a damn joke. He didn't even know what they achieved in their competitive years, so certainly isn't a good "journalist". He's paparazzi trash mag level at best.
At the highest level of ANY sport pain is constant due to overtraining as muscles hurt every single day, even on days off. It's also true for professional ballet dancers too. When I competed, I trained 12 hours a day, 6 days a week and was constantly in pain. I got so used to it and almost never questioned it. Now, retired, I am glad I am not training as intensely anymore. I can be sore on occasion or when I restart training after detraining, but pain is never as severe as it once was daily.
11:24 there are legitimate criticisms of TSL but the fact that Lease isn’t a skater isn’t one of them. While being an ex professional certainly is important for a judge it isn’t for fans.
Incredible video. Rigorous, respectful, both admiring and with critique. I specially loved the part where you criticize The Skating Lesson. During the Olympic scandal of the supposed doping of Kamila, the vere particularly EVIL on Twitter. They are both BAD MEAN persons, I despise them. Your video proofs one can make good points and critiques maintaining respect for the girls, who are just teenagers.
Also, amazingly edited. Congratulations. 🎆💪
Dave is just a nasty little man.
Her beautiful scarecrow hair 💀 DEAD
Ok so I’m only halfway through but you haven’t discussed the age difference between the Russians and pretty much everyone else. Not to mention, the only girls able to do these jumps are starving, pre-pubescent ones. Russia tosses them to the wayside as soon as their hips develop past the point of being able to do these jumps. It’s so messed up.
The fact that you call the Russians “women” in this video, and that people always do when talking about this category of skating, is part of the problem. They’re girls. Children. Not women.
Edit: glad you somewhat addressed it in the second half, but you still didn’t go in deep enough imo. She has these girls eating nothing but a tomato a day in some cases. I’m so disgusted by her.
This video is about HOW it became as cruel as it is, not an in depth video about what the specific cruelties are. You seem to be allowing your disgust with Eteri to manifest as attacking other women as if that does anything. If you want that info you're LITERALLY not watching the right video, which is not the creators fault that you expected more than what the title says. Also...you legit couldn't even watch the whole video before you went off? What exactly are you doing besides ranting in comments to change the way young girls are seen as disposable objects? Or is shifting your anger onto any other woman who dares also speak about this all you have?
i'm doing research on figure skating for a project of mine, and this has been so helpful and enlightening! thank you; this was incredibly informative. i hope the figure skating environment gets better; it's horrible
Excellent work.
This is an important topic, and the audio commentary is worth a listen. I hope edits of future videos will make better choices to match. Some of the visuals were cheesy and thoughtless, at best...
Love your documentaries- well structured and great narration!
those girls are going to have so many back, hip, and knee problems and this is why we really need an age restriction
I'd love to see an update video on this topic now!
such an incredible video, and i’m glad you brought up theskatinglesson! his commentary has always felt very immature and unnecessary at times. amazing research on this video
How’s he gonna call it The Skating Lesson when he can’t even skate?! I’m glad I’ve never encountered his trash.
What happened to Evgenia, the most artistically emotive skater ever is a travesty.
The coaches should be forced to do the same jumps as the girls.
Simple solution really - ban the quad.
Does anyone know the names of the pieces played in the video as background music? Really great video btw
The names are in the description
Thanks for this insightful commentary for watching.
the choice of clips for 4:07-4:09 made me subscribe immediately
I can understand that you might not like Dave Lease, or his commentary, he might be a bit too much at times and I get that. However, invalidating his commentary because he is not a great skater is beyond the point and a fallacy: you'd be discrediting ALL NEWS outlets where commentators are or were not skaters themselves. There are actually reporters and judges who have not been skaters and that does not invalidate their points of view.
Exactly - this follows the mean girls vibes in the sport
@@MrCph2200 Dave follows the mean girls vibe, so what's your point?
I’m 30 and have arthritis. Bone Spurs. Cracking and popping in my joints. The list goes on.
pls do an update based on the drama of the 2022 olympics!
The people enabling and committing these abuses against these children should be in prison. It's fucking disgusting.
It seems that figure skating has developed the same vile practices that have poisoned ballet dancing for well over half a century.
and Kamila valiava, who will bag the gold unless she gets covid.
Drug tests: I'm about to end this person's whole career
Amazing video
How sad.. .these poor girls
Amazing channel!!! You deserve so much more subs. I'm sure you will succeed in the future
I can't imagine putting children through all that
My Bruce was an elite gymnast specializing in vault. Today at 45 she can hardly walk and has had multiple surgeries !
Thank you for referring to these 15 year olds as girls (which they are) and not women.
Someone needs to do what The Skating Lesson does but with less sensationalism and drama and more maturity. I'm not a fan of Dave's attitude although I appreciate his work.
Follow Jackie Wong from Rocker Skating. True, honest and hardworking skating journalist, WITHOUT the bitching, lies and sensationalism.
@@lindatannock Yeah, but Jackie will never say what's going on behind the scenes or the politics. Never. There's nothing Jackie covers you can't find elsewhere. 🤷♀️
I dont truly mind children training even intensely in young age.... But stunting their physical growth just to execute a jump? Really? I think that is too much
other people have commented this but another reason tutberidze’s girls end up with so many injuries is because eteri coaches horrendous jumping technique. the girls are taught to jump with their backs and heavily prerotate their jumps, which isn’t penalised because the judges are biased.
if anyone wants to learn more about this topic the youtuber Fran has a really well-made series on her channel about tutberidze and current women’s skating.
How can something age so much in just three weeks?
Women's figure skating at these Olympic turned into the Hunger Games. The image of Kamila, Anna and Sasha all looking emotionally broken will be the lasting image for figure skating in Beijing.
This World were a complete contrast.
IKR? I probably wouldn't have watched the Worlds this year if Russia hadn't gone and gotten itself banned from it (esp. since after the Olympics, they're all just doing the same things again at it). I watched it to see who finally had a chance on the podium this time without a Russian sweep possible, and I was SO HAPPY to see HOW HAPPY the medalists for 2022 all were. And two of the three were also legal adults, not children!
And seriously, when watching the Olympics, I think the only thing that kept me from crying in both pity and disgust at the Russian team's reaction to the results (Kamila sobbing because she "failed" the team's expectation and THE ONLY FUCKING PERSON WHO GAVE HER A HUG WAS THIS RANDOM BROADCASTER, Trusova having a breakdown from coming in second and crying and yelling at Eteri, Scherbakova winning and just sitting there silently and unable to celebrate since her teammates were in such a state... ay yaye AYE) was Kaori basically screaming and crying for joy that she'd actually made it onto the podium.
@@SoundShinobiYuki I won't be forgetting the Women's Event in Beijing any time soon. What's sad is that there are so many beautiful and deserving women skaters but the event had such a cloud over it.
@@SoundShinobiYuki this "random broadcaster" is actually Alexei Yagudin, 2002 male FS Olympic champion...
@@annasolovyeva1013 But the one I saw was a woman, she looked like either a volunteer or a sportscaster/broadcaster. Unless I’m mixing it up with one of the other skaters. (Still, either way, fuck their awful inhuman coach.) Off to rewatch some things with me…
Well done! Im excited for more content!
I recommend this series for anybody who wants to go more in depth: czcams.com/video/FqtHSvkPWPk/video.html
Kamila's combination jumps include changing pivoting foot among the transition…I don't like it…but her performances are so cool and beautiful
Miki Ando jumped the quad way before the little Russian girls started with their 3,5 jumps lol