Ex-Russian Olympic coach returns to spotlight at 2026 Winter Games despite doping shadow

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The Russian figure skating coach at the heart of the doping scandal that engulfed then–15-year-old Kamila Valieva at the 2022 Winter Games is making her return at Milan Cortina.

Eteri Tutberidze, who coached Valieva when it was revealed in Beijing that she had tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine, returned to the Olympic scene this week for Georgia as European champion Nika Egadze’s coach.

Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva competes at the Russian Jumping Championships in Moscow, Russia, on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)

Tutberidze, despite global outcry because Valieva was a minor at the time, was not formally sanctioned or disciplined for the incident. Still, World Anti-Doping Agency President Witold Banka expressed his disappointment that she would be involved in this year’s Games. 

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"It’s not our decision the coach is here," Banka said Thursday. "The investigation found no evidence that this particular person was engaged in this doping process, so there’s no legal basis to exclude her from the presence during the Olympic Games."

"But of course, if you ask me personally about my feelings," he continued, "I don’t feel comfortable with her presence here in the Olympic Games, for sure."

Valieva, 19, submitted a sample in December 2021 during the Russian National Championships, which came back positive the following February. The scandal erupted after Valieva helped the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) win gold in the team event after she became the first woman in competition to land a quadruple jump. 

Kamila Valieva of Team ROC reacts while