This is some I, Tonya drama right here!
The International Skating Union has determined there was “no evidence” that American figure skater Mariah Bell had deliberately kicked South Korean competitor Lim Eun-Soo during warm-ups at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships.
On Wednesday, the 22-year-old allegedly cut the calf of the 16-year-old with the blade of her skate while the two were preparing for the women’s short program in Saitama, Japan — a move that some thought might have been intentional.
All That Sports, the company that reps the Korean skater, told press that it asked the Korean Skating Union to lodge a formal complaint on Lim’s behalf with the ISU, along with a request for an investigation.
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After reviewing the incident, however, both the Korean Skating Union and the ISU concur that no foul play was detected… at least not from what they saw in the video footage. Noting that Lim’s parents also brought up the incident, the KSU said in a statement:
“At this stage, we can’t conclude Bell caused the injury on purpose. It is hard to tell just by watching the video footage of the incident.”
The ISU agreed, telling press:
“The incident was verbally reported to the ISU by the Korean Team Leader; however, no formal complaint has been received. Based on the evidence at hand at this point in time, which includes a video, there is no evidence that Ms. Bell intended any harm to Ms. Lim. The ISU met with delegates from both [the] USA and Korea and urged both parties to find an amicable solution. The ISU maintains this remains the appropriate approach… We believe this is not a minor situation that can happen in an official rehearsal.”
But All That Sports believes otherwise.
The agency said it believed the slash was intentional because Bell collided with Lim, who was competing in her first senior worlds, from behind when she was skating close to the wall of the rink, away from the rest of the skaters, claiming:
“Lim was slowly skating on the edge of the rink after completing her turn. Mariah Bell, who was scheduled to rehearse after Lim, suddenly kicked and stabbed Lim’s calf with her skate blades. Mariah Bell didn’t apologize to Lim Eun-Soo after the incident and instead continued to rehearse for her routine.”
It appears the two have somewhat of a competitive relationship with each other. Both women train under Rafael Arutuian in Los Angeles, and, the agency alleges, Bell had been “bullying Lim for months.”
Intentional or not, Lim didn’t let the injury affect her performance. She was treated and competed in the event, going on to score a personal best of 72.91 points and placing fifth. Bell, meanwhile, scored 71.26 points and placed sixth.
You can see the bandage on Lim’s lower left calf in the video of her near-flawless performance (below):
When they go low… show them the f**k up on the rink!