Putin honors skating coach in Valieva Olympic case

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has awarded figure skating coach Eteri Tutberidze one of the country’s highest honors. It comes nearly a year after a doping case involving one of her skaters overshadowed the Winter Olympics. A presidential decree lists Tutberidze among three people awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky “for ensuring the successful training of athletes who achieved high sporting accomplishments” at the Beijing Olympics. Tutberidze trained Kamila Valieva, the gold favorite. Valieva helped Russia win the team event before a doping test taken before the Games came back positive. She was allowed to skate in the women’s competition on appeal and placed fourth. But uncertainty over the team result has meant an Olympic medal ceremony has yet to be held.