It’s one of those stories that almost seems fabricated for the Olympics: Marina Zoueva watched two sets of pupils compete for figure skating gold on Tuesday, with U.S. pair Meryl Davis-Charlie White topping Canadians Tessa Virtue-Scott Moir. The awkwardness of the situation was downplayed quite a bit ... until Virtue and Moir vented following a frustrating silver finish, according to NBCOlympics.com.
“There are moments where you take a step back and evaluate whether this situation was ideal,” Moir said in a press conference Tuesday. “We have to credit Marina. There were times when we weren’t happy, and we sometimes felt that she wasn’t in our corner.”
In other words, Virtue and Moir don’t believe that Zoueva rooted equally for both duos. Here is a shot of everyone together from Getty Images:
Sochi, Russia - February 17 - SSOLY- Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir won a silver medal behind Americans Charlie White and Meryl Davis and the four pose with their shared coach, Marina Zoueva. At the Winter Olympics in Sochi, the Ice Dancing long program finals were held at the Ice Berg arena February 17, 2014 (Richard Lautens/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
Richard Lautens
Zoueva has coached both Davis-White and Virtue-Moir for at least seven years. It’s worth noting that it was Virtue and Moir who won gold in Vancouver while Davis and White took silver.
The NBC Olympics report points to a few signs beyond the unsettling finish that indicate something was awry. For one thing, Virtue and Moir were increasingly seeking outside advice. There’s also this consideration:
Virtue, 24, and Moir, 26, aren’t sure if this will be their last Olympic appearance. If it is, they’ll retire with some mixed feelings, including toward their long-time coach.
