Winter Olympics
Russia's Kamila Valieva competes in the women's single skating free skating of the figure skating te...

I Seriously Cannot Handle This Video Of Kamila Valieva’s Gold-Medal Skate

Does gravity just… not affect her??

WANG ZHAO/AFP/Getty Images

For many athletes, going gold at the Olympics is just a dream — but for figure skater Kamila Valieva, that dream came true in the best way possible during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. The 15-year-old Russian sensation floored audiences all over the world when she accomplished an extremely difficult maneuver that had never been done before by a woman at the Olympics. This video of Kamila Valieva’s Olympic quad jump at the team free skate has me all the way in my feels, and I seriously cannot handle it.

In simple terms, a quad jump in figure skating is when a figure skater launches themselves into the air and rotates around at least four times. It’s a high-risk move, as skaters must use their body’s full power to execute the move perfectly and avoid the danger of injury. On Feb. 6, during the Olympic team free figure skate competition, Valieva executed the move not just once, but twice in a single routine — impressing judges enough to give her the highest score. It was enough to launch Russia to gold in the event.

It seems like this young athlete is just getting started: She not only came out on top for both of her team skate performances, but nearly set a world record by finishing 15 points ahead of the next competitor. “This is a fantastic feeling,” Valieva said in a Feb. 6 interview for The New York Times. As always, however, the highs of winning come with the lows of added expectations to continue being the best. Because she’s still so young and competing against so many skilled adults, Valieva explained she was doing her best to cope with Olympic-level pressures, per the Times.

Despite falling once during her performance after attempting a third quad jump, Valieva’s routine included so many difficult and complex skills that she came out on top anyway. “I will work on it, believe me,” Valieva said, commenting on her fall during her third quad jump attempt. But aside from pulling off the move twice in one routine, the skater also pointed out how she landed a triple axel — another high-risk move in women’s figure skating that often requires an extra half-rotation to land backward. You can check out a video of her full routine here.

Other Olympic teams also displayed some pretty awe-inspiring performances: The United States nabbed silver for their 65-point performance during the team event, while Japan won a bronze medal for trailing just behind at 63 points. But while Team USA’s ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates gave standout performances, their scores still weren’t enough to overtake Russia. “It was hard to be oblivious to what was happening with the scores, but at the end of the day when the time came for us to skate, we really just focused on what we could do to contribute,” Bates said, per the Times. “We knew that we could win the free dance, and we knew that it would be a significant boost for our team,” he added.

For now, the spotlight stays on Valieva as she continues to be one of the top competitors at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.