Should child athletes such as Kamila Valieva be allowed to compete in elite sports?

Sir Matt Busby, who famously guided Manchester United to their first European football title, was once quoted as saying: “If you’re good enough, you’re old enough.”

But given the lack of safeguarding when it comes to young athletes in today’s society, is this statement entirely true? 

Controversy surrounding alleged doping by 15-year-old figure skater, Kamila Valieva, consumed the media narrative at the recent Winter Olympics. Heavily touted to win individual gold, universal horror unfolded as the teenager was permitted to compete but saw her performance unravel in the face of the world. 

The emotions afterwards made for uncomfortable viewing. Valieva was reduced to tears, while being lambasted by coach Eteri Tutberidze for seemingly giving up. Close by, compatriot Alexandra Trusova, who claimed silver, was equally inconsolable and stressed she would never skate again because of unfair treatment by the judging panel. 

Trusova later explained her outburst was due to her “emotional” state at the time, which ultimately begs the question: Should teenagers like Valieva and Trusova have been allowed to end up in these situations, which may now have caused irreparable harm? 

Equally, would minimum age restrictions across all sports actually help protect child athletes, or only serve to create more problems? 

Valieva is the current world record holder for the women’s short program and free skating. She is also the European champion and has already set nine world records in her career. These statistics alone suggest that the Russian is not too young to compete, given she is, by all accounts, one of the best figure skaters in the world right now. 

This is by no means a rarity in the world of figure-skating either. Four years