Kremlin defends Kamila Valieva coach who berated her for falling at the Olympics, says 'harshness' brings victory

• Russian skater Kamila Valieva was berated by her coach after falling at the Winter Olympics.
• Eteri Tutberidze was widely criticized for her cold response, including by a top Olympic official.
• The Kremlin backed Tutberidze, saying "harshness" is necessary to bring victory in sports.

The Kremlin defended the coach of 15-year-old Russian skater Kamila Valieva after she berated the teenager for falling during her figure skating routine and missing a gold medal.

International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said in a press conference on Friday that he was "very disturbed" by the Russian team's "coldness" towards the teenager.

During her final routine on Thursday, Valieva stumbled and fell multiple times, and was scolded by coach Eteri Tutberidze after she left the ice. She had been the frontrunner, but fell to fourth place as a result.

"Why did you stop fighting? Explain it to me," Tutberidze was heard demanding of Valieva in Russian on a live feed moments after she left the rink.

Bach, the Olympic official, said: "Rather than giving her comfort, rather than trying to help her, you could feel this chilling atmosphere, this distance." 

"This was no way to treat a 15-year-old under such mental stress."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov responded to Bach's comments by defending Tutberidze, arguing that "harshness" is necessary to bring victory in sports.

"Thomas Bach is a very authoritative person in the sports world. Of course we respect his opinion but we do not necessarily agree with him," Peskov said on Friday, the day after the fall, according to Reuters.

"He doesn't like the harshness of our coaches but everybody knows that the harshness of a coach in high-level sport is key for their athletes to achieve victories."

"And we are seeing that the athletes are achieving victories. So let's be proud of our winners, congratulate our medalists. Valieva was fourth but in high-level sport, the strongest wins."

Valieva has been at the center of a doping controversy after testing positive for the banned heart drug Trimetazidine in December.

She was initially given a provisional suspension from Russia's anti-doping agency, but the ban was overturned following an appeal.

Although she came fourth in the individual event, Valieva was also part of the first-place team skating team.

However, despite placing first, she has yet to receive a gold medal while officials decide whether the doping issue invalidates her performance.