As Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva returns to the ice for training this week, she bears the burden of a significant global controversy and a four-year ban that has altered her life. Her disqualification for doping, which resulted in the loss of Russia’s gold medal from the 2022 Olympic team event, was officially resolved on December 25, 2025. At 19, she comes back not as the untouchable prodigy of her 15-year-old self, but as an athlete determined to reshape her Olympic legacy.

For some skaters and fans observing from afar, her return is more than a mere sports narrative; it is an emotional tale. And Canadian-Italian figure skater Corey Circelli, in conversation with Sport24 correspondent Petr Shatrov, expressed that very sentiment.

“Oh, that was terrible,” Circelli recalled. “I didn’t understand how you could do this to a 15-year-old girl. At the same time, I was very pleased with the behavior of Kamila herself. She didn’t say a single bad word about those who wrote terrible things about her.” The years of dignified silence amid legal battles and public scrutiny now cast her return as a testament to her quiet determination.

Reflecting on Kamila Valieva’s return, he remarked, “I had a lot of doubts. There were enough examples when superstars from Russia talked about it, but nothing worked out. Kamila is really determined to perform again at the highest level. It’s a very inspiring story. I hope that someday about her career will make a movie or write a book. Circulation will definitely be in the millions.”

Her journey ahead will be filled with challenges, both competitive and political in nature. She has parted ways with her previous coach, Eteri Tutberidze, and will now potentially train under Svetlana Sokolovskaya at a facility operated by Tatiana Navka, an Olympic ice dance champion who is married to Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for Vladimir Putin.

Yet, her own statement in the wake of the controversy revealed a remarkable resilience.

Kamila Valieva fought through all of it in silence

In 2022 Kamila Valieva was figure skating’s golden girl. In her first senior season, Valieva was jumping quads and triple Axels and had fast and flexible spins, all topped off with immense artistry – the complete package.

She’d won her two Grand Prix events as well as Russian Nationals and the European Championships in the lead-up to Beijing, where she was the heavy gold medal favorite.

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Then suddenly after the team, news trickled in that a Russian figure skater had tested positive for the banned substance, trimetazidine. And when it finally emerged, it was Valieva; the storm of media attention and social media discussion was intense. Though many believed Valieva should have been barred from competing in the women’s event, she was permitted as she was a minor at the time.

But the event was a disaster as Valieva buckled under the scrutiny, making a number of mistakes and finishing off the podium for the first time all season. And then came the disqualification of all her scores that season and the ban by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2024.

But despite it all, Valieva is back and aiming for the next Winter Games. But how did she overcome the whole ordeal, especially at such a young age? In the wake of the Beijing Olympics, she found herself in a state of immense uncertainty, confessing, “Initially, I didn’t even know if I would continue my career or not.”

It was the support of her coach that empowered her to stay positive. While her competitive ambitions remained, she expressed back then that she was ready for another Olympics if allowed. She described the scandal not as a setback but as a challenging period of transformation, asserting, “The events that have happened to me have made me more mature. If you can learn to find the positive in everything, life becomes better and more interesting.”

This perspective, along with her claim that “sports is the best thing that ever happened to me,” is a vital component of her comeback that’s motivated by a profound passion for skating and a personal desire to wrap up this chapter on her own terms.