U.S. Figure Skater Mariah Bell Is Being Investigated for Allegedly Slashing Her 16-Year-Old Korean Rival

Alyssa Bailey


From ELLE

Here’s some real-life figure skating drama that seems straight out of a movie: 22-year-old American figure skater Mariah Bell is being investigated for allegedly slashing her 16-year-old Korean rival Lim Eun-soo during rehearsal at the ISU World Figure Skating Championship yesterday.

Eun-soo’s agency All That Sports said, per TMZ and Washington Post, that "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." Eun-soo's agents told Yonhap News that she suffered a cut on her calf after the incident and was medically treated.

Photo credit: Stanislav Krasilnikov - Getty Images
Photo credit: Stanislav Krasilnikov - Getty Images

Eun-soo’s agency asked the Korean Skating Union to file a complaint on Eun-soo’s behalf with the International Skating Union (the international governing body for figure skating), which they did, AFP reported this morning. The ISU will meet today to discuss the claims, according to media and communications manager Selina Vanier.

But Bell intentionally injuring Eun-soo may be hard to prove. According to AFP’s report, a Korean Skating Union official said that “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.”

AFP notes that both Eun-soo and Bell train under the same coach, Rafael Arutunian. An official from Eun-soo’s agency told Yonhap News that Bell had "been bullying Eun-soo for months and launched a verbal attack on her just before the world championships."

For what it's worth, U.S. skater Adam Rippon weighed in on the drama, calling it clickbait on Twitter. "I’ve been to the rink multiple times and NO ONE has been bullying anyone," he wrote. "Stop creating shit and spreading rumors. What happened in the warm up was an accident. Don’t distract both Eunsoo and Mariah from the competition."

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