Declan Hayes
Though hindsight makes clear that Valieva is being penalised for no other reason than she is a Russian citizen, there is something infinitely more puerile and venal to it than that.
Russian figure skating sensation Kamila Valieva first appeared on my radar during the 2021/2 Beijing Winter Olympics when MI6's BBC outlet relentlessly, ruthlessly and persistently attacked the then 15 year old child sensation. For people of my generation, of Putin's generation or indeed of the late POTUS Nixon's generation , it would have been like attacking the great Belarusian patriot Olga Korbut, whose prowess still to this day inspires armies of young girls from America to Argentina, and from Algeria and Australia to take up gymnastics. Valieva is in that most elite of classes.
So what was it with Valieva? Why MI6's fixation on crucifying Bambi and removing that purest of sporting lights from the lives of so many young American, Argentinian, Algerian and Australian girls? Just what is wrong with that sick outlet and the sundry British, Ukrainian and American Nazi flotsam that collude with them to poison all, like Valieva's genius, that is good and pure in life?
Though hindsight makes clear that Valieva is still being penalised for no other reason than she is a Russian citizen (and a fantastic athlete the gods of Olympus unanimously salute), there is something infinitely more puerile and venal to it than that. As Russia Today informs us that NATO will allow only 40 Russian athletes to compete at the Paris Olympics, those same ancient Greek gods would be shocked how political leprechauns like von der Leyen, Biden, Macron and his "wife" are ripping to shreds their ancient charter where the Spartans and their equally formidable adversaries put aside their differences to enjoy a few weeks of "manly" sport.
Though Russian President Putin would have first hand experience of some of those "manlier" sports, he also no doubt looks back with fondness on such pioneers as Korbut, the Valieva of his formative years. And though the BBC and similar outlets tried to pile on Putin when Croatia knocked Russia out of the 2018 World Cup, I doubt Putin or any other Russians of his era were particularly fazed about it, Russia being a relative under-achiever in football and Croatia being the great over-achiever.
Further, as Putin is of a Russian cohort who were blessed to see the great Lev Yashin in action, more recent defeats are not of that great a consequence in the greater panorama of Russian sporting achievements. And though the "manly" and leopard-like Yashin might outshine Korbut in Putin's mind, Putin, as Russian President, enjoys a privilege even the great Korbut and the equally great Yashin would, along with the Greek gods themselves, readily salute and connect with, for even those two legends, like Valieva and countless others of today's Russian stars, suffered unfair and undeserved setbacks.
Here is Putin exercising that privilege by leading Russian athletes in belting out their common national anthem , following NATO's refusal to allow them play it at the Winter Games. Putin is, in this instance, blessed as his office and his personality combine to allow those Russian athletes snatch the moral high ground from the insults NATO's snivelers wished to inflict on them by denying them the common courtesy of playing their common national anthem.
Putin proved his leadership there by leading his fellow Russians in their defiance with dignity. And the hope and indeed the expectation has to be that Putin will do so again with Valieva and all those other Russian athletes who have had their laurels stolen from them by Biden, Macron and his "wife", the cross dressing Zelensky and similar slugs in human form.
Although I have written articles here, here, here, here and here on broadly similar themes, perversely I no longer have any interest in NATO's sporting circuses, outside of the concepts of fair play and setting good examples that Valieva, Korbut, Yashin and all similar prodigies personify. I no longer have any interest in whether Valieva or any Russian wins any medal or every single medal that is up for grabs because there is something infinitely bigger in play now. Russia's sportspeople, together with their ballerinas and their child cartoonists, are being made fight with the tools available to them not only for the very essence of Russia but, as with Stalingrad, for the very essence of civilisation as well. And that is a team sport, where everyone, from Putin and the great Valieva to every last one of us must join the fray so that those who come after us might savour the joys of figure skating and other peaceful pastimes.