In just a few months before the Beijing Olympics, the singular greatness of Kamila Valieva rose like a whisper swelling to a roar. It was the perfect Olympic story. Until it wasn’t.
She was a figure skater of just 15 out of Moscow, but seemingly out of nowhere, when she broke world scoring records again and again. A long-limbed balletic beauty, she knocked out quadruple jumps as if she were skipping rope on a sidewalk. The lovely soft shapes she formed with her arms during difficult routines were enough to mesmerize an audience.
When the Beijing Games began in February with Valieva as the heavy favorite, who knew that this star was more like a supernova, and ready to explode?