Wanted (another) finger of honor?

Usually the scene of explosions of joy, the women’s figure skating competition awards ceremony turns into a melodrama on Thursday.

• Read also: From controversy to tears

Moments before she was reunited with other medalists to receive the Bing Dwen Dwen plushie, Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) athlete Alexandra Trusova lost her nerve in front of TV cameras.

“I hate this sport!” cried several times, in Russian, the one who had just finished second.

She then continued: “Never in my life… would I hate this sport! I hate this sport. I hate everything… I won’t go [à la cérémonie protocolaire], I do not want to go ! »

But Trusova, 17, went to this party. Along with fellow gold medalist Anna Shcherbakova, we can see her, neutral-faced, raising her left middle finger as she holds the small mascot Bing Duin Doyen.

in distress

Did she want? And if so, who was this middle finger directed at? for judges? for his coach? Trusova did not have to convey his gesture, after all, subtle, but it was caught by the cameras.

In her plight, the ROC skater also fired: “They all got a gold medal, not me!” A point was fired in the place of Shcherbakova, the champion of the day, and in the young Kamila Valieva, the gold medalist of the team competition while waiting for the spotlight on this doping test in which it failed.

Thursday in the free program, Trusova performed five quadruple jumps, a feat that earned him first place. But she immersed herself in her performance in the short program on Tuesday and couldn’t take the gold from her compatriot.

She presented herself to the media more calm and upright. “I did everything I could, I wanted to cry so I cried, that’s it, I blew. I’ve been alone for three weeks, without my mother, without my dog.”

“Of course, there were a lot of feelings. I will think and make a decision later on what I will do in the future.”

Russian specialties

That subtly raised middle finger is in addition to the one, presumably much more, that ROC long-track speed skater Daniel Aldushkin raised at the end of the team chase semi-finals, on Tuesday.

Aldushkin, 20, had to apologize for his gesture. Many believed that these middle fingers were aimed at its opponents at the time, the United States, at a time when the Americans, like many Western countries, denounce a possible invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

“This is my first game, my first medal, I regret the young skater at RT.com. It didn’t mean anything. [de négatif]. I apologize to those I have offended. »

Doubts about cheating, disgraceful gestures, tears and tantrums: No matter how many medals they collect, the athletes of the Republic of China – who are not allowed to compete under the Russian flag because of the doping scandal, we need to remind you – will not have marked these games as sporting reasons . ..

– With AFP