A Russian deputy prime minister fired back at the IOC's president after he condemned the team's treatment of Kamila Valieva

• A top Russian official slammed the IOC chief for his remarks on the treatment of Kamila Valieva.
• "This is frankly inappropriate and wrong," Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko said, Inside the Games reported.

A top Russian official has slammed the International Olympic Committee's president for his comments criticizing Russian Olympic Committee figure skater Kamila Valieva's entourage for their behavior after the teen failed to medal in the Olympic women's singles skating event on Thursday.

Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko told Inside the Games that the remarks made by IOC President Thomas Bach were "inappropriate and wrong."

"We are deeply disappointed to see an IOC president weave his own fictional narrative on the feelings of our athletes, and then present these publicly as the voice of the IOC," Chernyshenko said.

"Everyone recognizes the Olympics as the pinnacle of professional sport, and every single athlete bears the hopes and dreams of their entire nation for their success," he told Inside the Games. "That is a known pressure, and it is also what drives them forward, with a fighting spirit."

"Win or lose we know our athletes are world-beating, and they do too," he added.

Bach had told reporters that it was "chilling" to see how Valieva — a 15-year-old embroiled in a doping scandal at the Beijing Winter Olympics — was treated by her team and coaches on Thursday after she stumbled and fell in the free skate event, falling out of medal contention after leading the pack.

"I must say I was very, very disturbed yesterday when I watched the competition on TV," Bach said on Friday.

He said that there "appeared to be a tremendous coldness" toward Valieva following her performance.

Valieva burst into tears following Thursday's event and her coach, Eteri Tutberidze, came down on the teen instead of offering her words of encouragement in a scene that was captured on camera.

"Why did you stop fighting? Explain it to me — why? You let it go after that axel. Why?" Tutberidze asked Valieva as she exited the rink.

Meanwhile, Russian Figure Skating Federation President Alexander Gorshkov also blasted Bach's comments.

"The latest statement by the head of the IOC regarding the cold towards Valieva by the coaches of the Tutberidze group is extremely perplexing," he told Russia's official state news agency TASS, according to a translation from Inside the Games.

"Everyone who was next to Kamila at that moment — and her entourage, and our entire team — did everything possible to support her in this exceptionally difficult moment," Gorshkov told TASS, according to Inside the Games.