By Edie Bellingham
A Beautiful, Tainted Art
Predators have always been lying in plain sight. They are our neighbours, strangers, friends, and even family. It is a phenomenon that has haunted the best of minds for decades. But until recent years, we have rarely thought to consider predators lying in the athletic world; abuse at the hands of beloved and trusted coaches.
Although not a figure skater myself, I have always loved watching them. The intricate combination of dance and sports, of beautiful costumes and fierce turns.
So, I became an avid fan of it, and hence have seen the progress of various teams over the years; their collective winnings and losses. So, I have also fallen prey to the facade put over the glamorous Eteri Girls and was willing to temporarily overlook whatever signs arousing suspicion persisted for the sake of their gaining another medal.
But there is no excuse to continue justifying the system, all provided at the hands of coaches who are blind to the difference between disciplined training and abuse. A coach in particular has transformed this culture of grace into one of abuse.
Who are the Eteri Girls?
The nicknamed Eteri Girls are the girls that, simply put, train with former Russian ice skater and renowned coach Eteri Tutberidze. She has welcomed some of the best athletes in women’s figure skating, some even going as far to say as turning it “into a sport of superhuman pre-pubescence.”
Tutberidze’s life is one packed with accomplishments: she was awarded the International Skating Union’s “Best Coach” award and has been continually praised for breeding a “stable of thoroughbred” horses by executive director Barton, according to Slate.com.
She first came to prominence in the “era of Tutberidze” — 2014 — where she brought about the “meteoric rise” of 15-year-old Yulia Lipnitskaya at the Sochi Games.
Her ascent in medals and name continued as more and more talented, pre-pubescent Russian girls overran the Olympics. Valieva, Shcherbakova, and Trusova at the Beijing Olympics are of the most notable; they were called the “quad squad” for their ability to land several serial quadruple jumps, something previously thought to only be performed by men.
And the most notable thing about the Eteri Girls? The reason why they are so popular?
Because people love rooting for winners. And they are exactly that.
But their consistent winning streak was only officially questioned after an incident in 2022.
Fan favourite “prodigy” 15-year-old Kamila Valieva became the source of simultaneous shock and outrage when she failed her drug test in 2021-2022, testing positive for a banned substance called Trimetazidine (a metabolic agent used to treat heart conditions). Tutberidze went against arguments of it being used to enhance Valieva’s athletic endurance by stating that it “only helps to recuperate the heart muscles.”
However, the fact that Valieva was only 15 — still just a kid — made other coaches and public citizens alike demand for Valieva’s surrounding adults be reprimanded and held responsible. To put it simply: Eteri Tutberidze.
Despite her failed drug test, Valieva was still allowed to compete, albeit struggling throughout with fumbled turns and continual falls. She was ultimately placed 4th, and when she exited, Tutberidze was heard saying to Valieva:
“Why did you let it go? Why did you stop fighting?”
The Price of Talent
The price of talent is that it is something short-lived.
If Valieva’s incident was not enough to make you suspicious and question Tutberidze’s involvement in the girls’ tribulations, the dubbed “Eteri expiration date ” sure will. Over the years, the public has noticed a specific trend with the Eteri Girls. Despite their commendation, they have an abnormally short career longevity.
Lipnitskaya — the girl who kickstarted Tutberidze’s coaching career — retired at 19; it was later revealed she had too malnourished a diet to sustain herself indefinitely. 2018 Olympic champion Zagitova retired at 17; she claimed that it was just a “break” from the sport. And Kanysheva retired at just 16 years old due to a chronic back injury, surmised to be a result of strenuous training. This is not normal!
World Championship winner Michelle Kwan retired in her mid-20s, Katerina Witt retired at 29, Carolina Kostner was still competing way into her 30s, and so on. But “such longevity is unthinkable,” for the Eteri Girls.
The reason for this? Unsurprisingly, it’s Tutberidze’s abusive training methods. Despite the coach’s obvious success in strengthening the girl’s athletic capabilities, she often pushes her girls to the limits, making it unhealthy and unendurable.
Former Eteri Girls have revealed that her coaching tactics led to severe injuries (e.g. broken bones during supposed ‘warm-ups’), eating disorders, etc. They reported collapsing in pain after skating sessions, suffering humiliation during public weigh-ins, and dehydrating and starving themselves to avoid swelling and weight gain; they were only allowed to consume powdered nutrients, smell salts or rinse their mouths with water in replacement of food, or drinks. But the most surprising one revealed was their ingestion of Lupron, a puberty blocker made to kick-start menopause. Because girls with smaller bodies are able to compete in elite-level skills more efficiently and easily — hence contributing to the girls’ early retirement — Tutberidze aimed to create the “ideal body type” by making sure the added weight due to puberty was no longer a concern.
But this is by no means okay to go through as early of retirement as described, to undergo such abusive training tactics, or to sustain such a large number of injuries in a short period of time. Yet, by remaining passive viewers, we are effectively normalizing it.
Victory at All Costs?
In conclusion, despite revolutionizing this breathtaking sport, these girls are going through permanent bodily damage for ephemeral success.
A main contributing factor for this is due to the warped perception and transformation of figure skating into “a girlhood-obsessed environment” where a young age and a slim body are of the essence. Anything else is treated like common trash.
But despite Tutberidze’s abuse being less hidden nowadays, corporate (e.g. NBC) still promotes a more clean and child-friendly version of figure skating to the public; everyone would rather picture sparkly ice princesses than young girls being broken before the age of 13 under strict training regimes.
It is through the continuation of the Eteri girls and Valieva’s participation in the Olympics that shows we have somehow cleared their abusers, implying that these young girls’ livelihood and health aren’t worth putting the camera on hold.
And although the results are glamorous and embellishing, it is still in support of the objectification and ultimate discarding of numerous girl’s — children’s — bodies for the sake of another award.
The cost is not worth it.
So please, let’s not forget that “victory at all costs” was a mantra meant for soldiers in combat boots, not girls in figure skates.