'Heart-Stopping Beauty': Alec Baldwin Reacts to Skater Kamila Valieva's Performance

Kamila Valieva skated her short programme to "In Memoriam", written by pianist Kirill Richter. The choreography, created by one of her coaches, Daniil Gleikhengauz, symbolises chasing a butterfly that flies away in the end. Kamila earlier said that she had dedicated her programme to the memory of her grandmother, who passed away two years ago.

Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin appreciated the performance of Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva in the short programme of the team tournament at the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing. The artist said that he loves to follow figure skating competitions, as they show how athletes create beauty.

"A song. A poem. A painting. To have dedicated one's life (in Valieva's case, a short one thus far) to this artistry. Thank you, Kamila Valieva, for your gift of heart-stopping beauty to the world", Baldwin wrote in Instagram, adding a video of her performance in the short programme of the Olympic team tournament.

On Monday, Russian skaters won the team tournament at the Olympics. The silver medal went to the United States, and the bronze was won by Japanese athletes.

As part of the Russian national team, 15-year-old Valieva received 90.18 points, breaking the Olympic record. In the free programme, the Russian skater performed a quadruple salchow, as well as a quadruple toe-loop with a combination with triple toe-loop, gaining 178.92 points. She became the first female figure skater in history to land a quad jump at the Olympics.

During a Grand Prix competition in November, Valieva told reporters about the concept of her short programme.

"This is a story about a butterfly, where I catch it, follow it throughout the programme, and eventually let it go. Kirill Richter said that this music is the memory of the dead, and I dedicate this programme to my grandmother, who passed away in 2019", she said.

Valieva is the current Russian and European champion in figure skating, holding world records in both the short and free programmes. She also holds the title of gold medalist in the junior world championship and two Grand Prix tournaments.