This is the moment that US figure skater, Mariah Bell, 22, slashed her Korean rival Lim Eun-soo, 16, with one of her skates during a warm-up session that sparked accusations that the American was intentionally trying to hurt her competition.
The footage, which appears to have been shot on a cellphone from the stands, shows Lim skating gracefully around the rink shortly before the International Skating Union World Figure Skating Championships in Saitama, Japan. Bell can be seen coming up behind her on the ice and performing a pirouette, before gliding past her rival with her leg extended out behind her. Suddenly, Lim's expression became pained and she crumpled over, while Bell skated past her.
That was the moment the American athlete's skate slashed open Lim's leg, leaving her with a gash. The Korean skater received medical treatment and later returned to the ice with a bandage around her leg. Her management agency has since accused Bell of intentionally kicking and cutting Lim. However, the International Skating Union said its looked at video footage and found there was no evidence it was intentional. Lim finished in 10th place overall in the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Japan on Friday while Bell scooped 9th place. On Friday, the pair returned to the ice but neither seemed too pleased to see each other and the duo barely looked at each other during practice.
They allege that Lim had been slowly skating on the edge of the rink after completing her turn when the incident happened. 'Mariah Bell, who was scheduled to rehearse after Lim, suddenly kicked and stabbed Lim's calf with her skate blades,' the teen's agent told Agence France-Presse. 'Mariah Bell didn't apologize to Lim after the incident and instead continued to rehearse for her routine.' Lim, who was skating in her first senior world championships, suffered a gash on her calf. The wound was treated and bandaged. The covering on Lim's leg was still visible on Friday. Despite the incident, Lim skated a personal best of 72.91 points on Wednesday night. She placed fifth in the women's short program at Saitama, while Bell placed in sixth.
The International Skating Union revealed on Thursday that it had been made aware of the allegations against Bell from Lim's agency and the Korea Skating Union. ISU officials said the incident was verbally reported by the Korean Team Leader but that it did not receive a formal complaint. 'Based on the evidence at hand at this point in time, which includes a video, there is no evidence that Ms Bell intended any harm to Ms Lim,' the ISU said in an official statement.
'The ISU met with delegates from both USA and Korea and urged both parties to find an amicable solution,' it added. 'The ISU maintains that this remains the appropriate approach.' Bell and Lim both train under coach Rafael Arutyunyan in Los Angeles, and the Korean skater's management claim that Bell has been 'bullying Lim for months' leading up to the world championships. But Olympian US figure skater Adam Rippon quickly shot down allegations of bullying on Twitter.
'I've been to the rink multiple times and NO ONE has been bullying anyone, he tweeted on Wednesday. 'Stop creating s**t and spreading rumours. What happened in the warm-up was an accident. Don't distract both Eunsoo and Mariah from the competition.' 'Mariah and Eunsoo are competitive and train all the time together at home,' he added. 'Bullying is something Rafael would never tolerate.' Skating fans in South Korea quickly took to social media to condemn Bell on Wednesday, with many noting the claim that she hadn't apologized to Lim at the time. 'The problem with Mariah Bell was that she was skating too close to the edge and her blade stabbed into Eunsoo's leg,' tweeted one fan. 'Putting all bullying rumours aside, shouldn't she have apologized?' Some skating fans showed their support for Bell, while others asked that her detractors 'calm down and analyze' the situation. 'Why would a veteran skater like Bell injure someone during a PUBLIC PRACTICE in front of hundreds of fans?' asked one Twitter user. 'None of the fans, who were taking notes, said ANYTHING about a collision.'
Many also called for skating fans to stop cyberbullying Bell after her Instagram was flooded with comments comparing her to American figure skater Tonya Harding. Harding rocked the figure skating world when her ex-husband and bodyguard were accused of planning an attack on her rival Nancy Kerrigan before the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics. It was a sensational news story that dominated headlines for months and was later turned into the Academy-Award winning film I, Tonya. Kerrigan went on to win silver at the Olympics while Harding finished in eighth place. Harding was later banned for life from participating in US Figure Skating as either a skater or coach after a USFSA panel concluded that she had prior knowledge of the attack. Olympic champion, Russia's Alina Zagitova won the free skate on Friday to capture her first title at the figure skating world championships. 