BEIJING: Kamila Valieva finished fourth in the Olympic women’s figure skating final on Thursday after her error-strewn performance handed Russian teammate Anna Shcherbakova gold, as a doping scandal took its toll on the 15-year-old.
Shcherbakova scored 255.95 to seal the title, while Valieva, who was allowed to compete despite testing positive for a banned substance before the Games, fell several times to slip out of the medal positions in Beijing.
Another Russian, Alexandra Trusova, took silver, and Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto won bronze.
It was a major upset for Valieva, who looked completely broken at the end of her programme.
She had been the clear favourite going into the Games, but a week in it emerged she had tested positive in…
