An Olympic skating legend broke down in tears live on TV while discussing Kamila Valieva's Beijing disaster

• Robin Cousins could not contain his emotion after Kamila Valieva's free skate routine.
• The former Olympic gold medal skater cried as he watched a replay of the teenager falling over.

Robin Cousins, a British ice skating legend turned Olympic commentator broke down in tears while watching a replay of Kamila Valieva's disastrous free skate routine at the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Valieva, who has been at the heart of a well-documented doping scandal, was favorite to win the women's singles figure skating competition after putting in a stunning performance in Tuesday's short program.

However in Thursday's free skate, the 15-year-old slipped on multiple occasions during her routine and fell out of the medal positions to finish in fourth.

After the scores were announced, Valieva could be seen crying. Her coach, Eteri Tutberidze, was also heard berating her for her performance.

Cousins, who won a figure skating gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, could not contain his emotion while re-watching Valieva's slips and trips.

"What is making you so upset?" Cousins was asked by his co-commentator while speaking on the BBC's broadcast.

"I just hope she saw none of this coming," he said, adding that he believes Valieva was distracted by external factors during the routine.

Valieva was revealed last week to have tested positive for a banned substance while competing in December. Though she was cleared to continue competing in Beijing, her presence on the ice has been heavily criticized by current and former Olympians.

An investigation into the circumstances surrounding her failed drug test — which could see her stripped of the gold medal she won in the team event — remains ongoing.

"She wasn't given the chance to have a single focus and to do what she loves. My thing all these years later is to never forget why you put your skates on."

Cousins went on to suggest that Valieva should not have continued competing after her failed drugs test came to light, not because of any guilt on her part, but for her own protection.

"Someone thought having her do that was better than having her go home to her family and to wait and sort this out, knowing she could have two more Olympics ahead of her," he said.

"To see the talent and the unquestionable quality of Valieva, to see it put into this arena in that way, should never have happened."

Cousins and Valieva weren't the only ones in tears on Thursday.

Valieva's Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) teammate Alexandra Trusova also broke down after winning silver.

The 17-year-old top scored in the free skate event, in which she landed a never-before-seen five quadruple jumps, however the display wasn't enough to make up for her disappointing short program score, with compatriot Anna Shcherbakova scoring higher overall to win gold.

"Everyone has a gold medal, everyone, but not me," Trusova could be heard saying upon hearing she'd finished second.

"I hate skating. I hate it. I hate this sport. I will never skate again. Never. It's impossible. That's not how it should be."

Trusova, who won bronze at the world championships last year, elaborated on her feelings in the post-event news conference.

"I haven't been winning major events for three years," she said. "I always try to reach a goal, I always add more quads. And when I get to that, I will win.

"This didn't happen, that's why I was upset."