Kamila Valieva facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kamila Valieva
Valieva in 2022
Personal information
Native name	Камила Валерьевна Валиева (Russian)
Full name	Kamila Valeryevna Valieva
Country represented	Russia
Born	(2006-04-26) 26 April 2006 (age 19) Kazan, Russia
Height	1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)
Coach	Eteri Tutberidze Sergei Dudakov Daniil Gleikhengauz Georgi Pokhilyuk
Skating club	Sambo 70 (Khrustalny), Moscow
Began skating	2009

Kamila Valieva is a talented Russian figure skater. She was born on April 26, 2006. She has won many important competitions, including the 2021 Rostelecom Cup and the 2021 Skate Canada. She also became the Junior World Champion in 2020.

During the 2022 Winter Olympics, a test showed that a banned substance was in her system. Because of this, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) decided on January 29, 2024, to ban Valieva for four years. This ban started from December 25, 2021. All her results from that date, including her wins at the 2022 European Figure Skating Championships and the 2022 Olympic team event, were canceled.

Even with these changes, Valieva holds world records for the women's short program, free skating, and total scores. She has set seven world records in her career. She was the first female skater to score over 250, 260, and 270 points in total. She was also the first to score over 170 and 180 points in the free skate. Kamila is known for landing difficult jumps. She was the second woman to land a quadruple toe loop. She was also the fourth woman to land any kind of quadruple jump.

About Kamila Valieva

Kamila Valieva was born in Kazan, Russia. Her family is from the Volga Tatar group. She has a pet Pomeranian dog named Lëva, who was a gift from her fans in 2019.

When she was very young, Kamila took classes in rhythmic gymnastics, ballet, and figure skating. Her mother encouraged her to focus on skating after she turned five. She looks up to American skater Nathan Chen for his amazing technique. Kamila uses white Edea Piano skating boots with silver blades for her competitions.

Valieva and her dog, Lëva.

Her Skating Journey

Starting Out

Kamila began skating in 2009 in Kazan. She had several coaches early on. In 2018, she joined the Sambo-70 club. There, she trained with famous coach Eteri Tutberidze. Videos show Kamila competing when she was just 4 years old.

In the 2018–19 season, before she competed internationally, her short program became very popular. It was inspired by Pablo Picasso's painting Girl on a Ball. Picasso's granddaughter even invited Kamila to visit her in Paris. Kamila won the Russian Younger Age Championships that season.

Becoming a Junior World Champion

Valieva at the 2019–20 Junior Grand Prix Final.

Kamila first competed internationally in August 2019 in France. She won the gold medal at the Junior Grand Prix event. At this competition, she became the second female skater to land a quadruple toe loop jump. Her score was one of the highest ever for a junior lady.

A month later, she won another gold medal at the 2020 JGP Russia. She tried two quadruple toe loops in her free skate. With these two wins, she qualified for the 2019–20 Junior Grand Prix Final in Italy.

At the Junior Grand Prix Final in December, Kamila won the title. She performed a clean free skate. In February 2020, she won the Russian Junior Championships. She landed two quadruple toe loops in her free skate. After this, she was chosen for the 2020 World Junior Championships.

At the 2020 World Junior Championships, Kamila won the title. She became the new Junior World Champion. She set a new personal best score in the short program. In the free skate, she landed a quadruple toe loop.

Senior Competitions and Olympic Journey

Valieva started her senior career in the 2020–21 season. She won a silver medal at the Russian Championships. She landed two clean quad jumps in her free skate. She also won the 2021 Channel One Trophy, a team competition.

Kamila made her first international senior appearance at the 2021 CS Finlandia Trophy. She set new world records for the free skate and total points. At the 2021 Skate Canada International, she again set new world records for the free skate and total score. Her second event was the 2021 Rostelecom Cup. She broke her own world records for the short program, free skate, and total score.

In December 2021, Kamila won the 2022 Russian Championships. She scored very high points. As the national champion, she was chosen for the Russian Olympic team. In January 2022, she competed at the European Championships in Estonia. She won the title there. However, these results were later canceled due to a doping violation.

At the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Kamila competed in the team event. She performed very well in both the short program and free skate. The Russian team won the team event. However, the medal ceremony was delayed. This was because a sample Valieva gave in December 2021 tested positive for a banned substance. In 2024, her results from this event were canceled, and the team medal was taken away.

In the individual women's singles event at the Olympics, Kamila placed first in the short program. But in the free skate, she made several mistakes and finished in fourth place. This result was also later canceled. In March 2022, all Russian and Belarusian skaters were banned from international events. This meant Kamila could not compete at the World Championships.

After the Olympics and Important Ruling

Russian athletes were still banned from international events in the 2022–23 season. Kamila competed in domestic Russian events. She won gold medals at the Golden Skate of Moscow and the Grand Prix stage in Kazan. At the Russian Championships, she finished second overall.

On January 13, 2023, the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) took away her gold medal from the 2022 Russian Championships. This was because of the positive test for a banned substance.

On January 29, 2024, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) made a final decision. They banned Kamila Valieva for four years. This ban started from December 25, 2021. This means all her competition results from that date were canceled. The International Skating Union (ISU) then officially disqualified her from the 2022 European Championships and the 2022 Winter Olympics. The medals for these events were given to other skaters. Even though her ban ends before the 2026 Winter Olympics, it is unclear if she will be able to compete. This is because of ongoing bans on Russian athletes in international sports.

Amazing Skating Skills

Kamila Valieva has achieved many difficult things in figure skating:

• On August 23, 2019, she landed a quadruple toe loop at a junior competition. She was the second woman ever to do this.
• She was the first woman to score over 170 and 180 points in the free skate. She was also the first to score over 250, 260, and 270 points in total.
• She set junior world records for the highest free skate score and total score at the 2020 Junior World Championships.

Awards and Recognition

In February 2022, after the Olympics, Kamila received the Order of Friendship from President Vladimir Putin.

On March 18, 2022, the President of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, gave her a "Duslyk" order. He also gave her mother a medal.

Programs

Valieva at the 2018 Rostelecom Cup gala.

Valieva at the 2019–2020 ISU Junior Grand Prix Final medal ceremony.

Competition Results

Detailed Results

Senior Level

Small medals for short and free programs are given only at ISU Championships. Personal bests are italicized. Current world record scores are bold and italicized. Previous world records are highlighted in bold.

Junior Level

Valieva at the 2019–20 Junior Grand Prix Final.

Small medals for short and free programs are given only at ISU Championships. Previous junior world record scores are highlighted in bold.

See also

In Spanish: Kamila Valíyeva para niños