Figure Skating-Moscow-born Petrosian misses podium after falling on quad jump
MILAN, Feb 19 : After shaking up the field with a short programme that lifted her from obscurity into fifth place, neutral athlete Adeliia Petrosian missed the podium on Thursday when she fell during a quad jump - an element only she attempted in the women's figure skating event.
Competing at the Milano-Cortina Games as an Individual Neutral Athlete (AIN) under restrictions imposed on Russians after Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Petrosian arrived in Milan as a bit of an unknown quantity since Russian skaters are barred from global competitions.
She launched herself to an international audience on Tuesday with a vibrant short programme to a medley of Michael Jackson songs that earned her 72.89 points and a spot just behind the established medal hopefuls.
She scored 141.64 points with her free skate, performed to Astor Piazzolla's tango 'Yo Soy Maria', to finish sixth with a total of 214.53, trailing American champion Alysa Liu by more than 12 points.
Petrosian's stony-faced exit from the rink summed up her disappointment.
"I feel a bit ashamed in front of myself, the Federation, the coaches and the spectators that things turned out this way," a visibly shaken Petrosian told Russian media with glistening eyes.
"I understand that it's my own fault. That's probably the hardest part," she added.
The 18-year-old booked her spot for the Winter Games by winning a qualifying event in Beijing in September, her only senior event outside Russia before she arrived in Milan for the Olympics.
Petrosian has drawn attention in Milan due to a coaching set-up that includes Eteri Tutberidze, whose influence as a coach has been under the spotlight since her former charge, Russian Kamila Valieva, was at the heart of a doping scandal at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
Tutberidze, whose skaters delivered a barrage of quadruple jumps at the last Olympics, was not found guilty by WADA of any offence in relation to Valieva's positive test and never faced any sanction.
Tutberidze, who was accredited for the Games through the Georgian federation as she coaches that country's skater Nika Egadze, was not at rink level when Petrosian skated.
While Tutberidze has been spotted at Petrosian's training sessions in Milan, she is forbidden from standing rinkside due to IOC rules barring Russian support personnel from acting in official roles for AIN competitors.
Petrosian said she regretted in particular an injury she suffered after the New Year.
Asked whether she felt brave for attempting a quad toeloop, on which she fell, she said: "I didn't have a choice."
Although the gamble to include the quad backfired for Petrosian, celebrated Russian coach and choreographer Tatyana Tarasova told TASS: "When you have a quad toeloop how can you not include it?
"Nobody lands complex jumps 10 times out of 10. She just didn't get the height. Of course, it’s very unfortunate, and what’s sad is that it shook her up a little on the inside, because she didn’t carry on with the right outlook."
