One Russian Skater Falls, Another Wins Gold
2022-02-18
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1As expected, a Russian woman was standing at the top of the figure skating medal podium at the Olympic Games on Thursday night.
2But it was not the Russian that most people expected.
3Anna Shcherbakova, the overlooked world champion, completed a clean performance in her free skate at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing to win the gold medal.
4Her teammate Kamila Valieva, the gold-medal favorite, struggled and fell two times in her program to finish fourth.
5"I still haven't realized that my Olympic Games have ended. I just know that I skated clean," said Shcherbakova, who was second behind Valieva after the short program.
6"I am so happy that I still haven't realized the result."
7Valieva's failed drug test ahead of the Olympics - and the decision to permit her to compete - had become the main story of the Games.
8The surprising results meant that a medal ceremony could happen.
9The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced earlier this week that medals would not immediately be given to any of the winners if Valieva finished in the top three.
10Shcherbakova, who is 17, landed two quadruple jumps to finish with 255.95 points.
11She narrowly beat another 17-year-old Russian, Alexandra Trusova, who landed five somewhat shaky quad jumps.
12Trusova was not pleased with the judges, given the difficulty of her program.
13"I am not happy with the result," Trusova said. "There is no happiness."
14Both Trusova and Valieva were crying uncontrollably after the competition ended.
15Kaori Sakamoto of Japan, however, was happy.
16She finished in third place, just ahead of Valieva.
17The three Russian women had been widely expected to win gold, silver and bronze.
18"I don't have the big jumps as others would have," said Sakamoto.
19"That meant I had to have perfect elements."
20On Thursday night, she did.
21The 15-year-old Valieva was heavily favored to win gold but she will leave the Games with no medal from the women's individual event and an investigation into her failed drug test to come.
22She had tested positive for a banned heart medication at the Russian championships in December.
23But the result was not known until last week, shortly after she helped the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) win first place in the team event.
24That result is now in question.
25Medals for the team figure skating event still have not been given out.
26Valieva was cleared to compete earlier this week by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
27The CAS ruled that she had protected status as a minor and would suffer "irreparable harm" if she was not permitted to compete.
28Investigators will continue to look into the situation after the Olympics.
29The investigation is expected to center on the adults who oversee Valieva's training, including her coach and doctor.
30Valieva has claimed the banned heart drug trimetazidine entered her system by accident.
31But the World Anti-Doping Agency issued a statement this week saying that her test sample also contained two other heart drugs.
32The other two drugs are not among WADA's banned substances.
33However, such results possibly damage the argument that the banned heart drug could have been taken by accident.
34"You use all of that to increase performance," said U.S. Anti-Doping Agency chief Travis Tygart.
35Valieva was inconsolable after her free skate Thursday.
36She did not speak to reporters after the performance.
37Soon after Valieva left the event, workers began setting up for a flower ceremony that the IOC said would not take place if she had been in the top three.
38Medals will be given out to the winners Friday in a separate ceremony,
39which also would not have happened in Beijing had Valieva finished among the top three.
40"I'm happy that there will be a ceremony, that we are going to get our medals," said Trusova, who refused to answer any questions about Valieva.
41"Of course, it will be extremely pleasant for me to receive my medal."
42In the team skating event last week, the United States finished second behind the ROC.
43Their second-place finish could turn into first place, depending on the results of Valieva's investigation.
44They still have not received a medal of any kind.
45American Karen Chen was one of the skaters who competed in the team event for the United States.
46She said Thursday, "It's unfortunate that we aren't able to get our medals."
47I'm Ashley Thompson.
1As expected, a Russian woman was standing at the top of the figure skating medal podium at the Olympic Games on Thursday night. 2But it was not the Russian that most people expected. 3Anna Shcherbakova, the overlooked world champion, completed a clean performance in her free skate at the Capital Indoor Stadium in Beijing to win the gold medal. Her teammate Kamila Valieva, the gold-medal favorite, struggled and fell two times in her program to finish fourth. 4"I still haven't realized that my Olympic Games have ended. I just know that I skated clean," said Shcherbakova, who was second behind Valieva after the short program. "I am so happy that I still haven't realized the result." 5Valieva's failed drug test ahead of the Olympics - and the decision to permit her to compete - had become the main story of the Games. 6The surprising results meant that a medal ceremony could happen. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced earlier this week that medals would not immediately be given to any of the winners if Valieva finished in the top three. 7The winners 8Shcherbakova, who is 17, landed two quadruple jumps to finish with 255.95 points. She narrowly beat another 17-year-old Russian, Alexandra Trusova, who landed five somewhat shaky quad jumps. 9Trusova was not pleased with the judges, given the difficulty of her program. "I am not happy with the result," Trusova said. "There is no happiness." 10Both Trusova and Valieva were crying uncontrollably after the competition ended. 11Kaori Sakamoto of Japan, however, was happy. She finished in third place, just ahead of Valieva. The three Russian women had been widely expected to win gold, silver and bronze. 12"I don't have the big jumps as others would have," said Sakamoto. "That meant I had to have perfect elements." 13On Thursday night, she did. 14Valieva left without a medal 15The 15-year-old Valieva was heavily favored to win gold but she will leave the Games with no medal from the women's individual event and an investigation into her failed drug test to come. 16She had tested positive for a banned heart medication at the Russian championships in December. But the result was not known until last week, shortly after she helped the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) win first place in the team event. That result is now in question. Medals for the team figure skating event still have not been given out. 17Valieva was cleared to compete earlier this week by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The CAS ruled that she had protected status as a minor and would suffer "irreparable harm" if she was not permitted to compete. 18Investigators will continue to look into the situation after the Olympics. The investigation is expected to center on the adults who oversee Valieva's training, including her coach and doctor. 19Valieva has claimed the banned heart drug trimetazidine entered her system by accident. But the World Anti-Doping Agency issued a statement this week saying that her test sample also contained two other heart drugs. The other two drugs are not among WADA's banned substances. However, such results possibly damage the argument that the banned heart drug could have been taken by accident. 20"You use all of that to increase performance," said U.S. Anti-Doping Agency chief Travis Tygart. 21Medal ceremony 22Valieva was inconsolable after her free skate Thursday. She did not speak to reporters after the performance. 23Soon after Valieva left the event, workers began setting up for a flower ceremony that the IOC said would not take place if she had been in the top three. Medals will be given out to the winners Friday in a separate ceremony, which also would not have happened in Beijing had Valieva finished among the top three. 24"I'm happy that there will be a ceremony, that we are going to get our medals," said Trusova, who refused to answer any questions about Valieva. "Of course, it will be extremely pleasant for me to receive my medal." 25In the team skating event last week, the United States finished second behind the ROC. Their second-place finish could turn into first place, depending on the results of Valieva's investigation. They still have not received a medal of any kind. 26American Karen Chen was one of the skaters who competed in the team event for the United States. She said Thursday, "It's unfortunate that we aren't able to get our medals." 27I'm Ashley Thompson. 28The Associated Press reported this story. Ashley Thompson adapted it for VOA Learning English. 29________________________________________________________________ 30Words in This Story 31podium - n. a raised platform for performer 32quadruple - adj. four times in size or amount 33positive - adj. showing the presence of a particular substance 34status - n. a current state of someone 35doping - n. the illegal use of a drug 36sample - n. a small amount of something that gives you information about the thing it was taken from 37inconsolable - adj. extremely sad and not able to be comforted 38unfortunate - adj. not appropriate or desirable