Mariah Bell, the figure skater who was accused of purposely slashing her competitor at the World Figure Skating Championships earlier this month, is breaking her silence on the incident.
On Thursday, Bell, 22, opened up on Instagram, where she explained that she “meant absolutely no harm” and denied claims that she came up behind Lim Eun-soo, 16, and kicked her with her skate blade, causing a cut to her leg.
The skater also said that the feedback she received in the wake of the claims was “hateful and disturbing” and she hoped that people would consider facts before writing nasty things online.
“As I told Eun-soo in Japan, the incident at practice was very unfortunate and I meant absolutely no harm,” Bell wrote, according to E! News. “Our training environment is professional and supportive, and I’ve never changed locker rooms or training times or anything like that.”
Continued Bell: “The comments that my friends, family and I received on social media were hateful and disturbing and hopefully this situation raises awareness and causes people to think twice before hitting ‘tweet’ or ‘post.'”
“I learned a lot about my inner strength last week, and I’m excited to continue to train in the lead up to Beijing in 2022,” she added.
On March 21, an official with Eun-soo’s agency, All That Sports, told the Yonhap News Agency that Bell was training ahead of the women’s short program in Saitama, Japan, when she allegedly slashed Eun-soo.
The official claimed to the outlet that the incident was deliberate, as Eun-soo was skating close to the walls away from others when it happened, and that Bell had allegedly been “bullying Lim for months.”
Both skaters trained with Rafael Arutunian in Lakewood, California.
At the time, the Korean Skating Union said it would file a formal complaint on Eun-soo’s behalf with the International Skating Union (ISU) after a request from All That Sports, according to Agence France-Presse.
The ISU acknowledged the incident in a statement but said that no formal complaint had been filed, and that there was no reason to believe the incident was deliberate.
“Based on the evidence at hand in this point in time, which includes a video, there is no evidence that Ms. Bell intended any harm to Ms. Lim,” the statement read. “The ISU met with delegates from both USA and Korea and urged both parties to find an amicable solution. The ISU maintains that this remains the appropriate approach.”
The ISU did not comment further to PEOPLE. A spokesman for Bell directed PEOPLE to the ISU statement.
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Video of the incident obtained by PEOPLE appears to show it was accidental: Bell is seen beginning her practice routine in the center of the rink and then skating closer to the outside wall, around several other skaters including Eun-soo. As Bell skates past with her right leg extended, her blade strikes Eun-soo, who immediately reacts in pain.
In the wake of the accusations, former Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon defended Bell and said that although he was not in Japan and did not see the incident take place, he had no doubts that it was all an accident.
“On-ice collisions are not uncommon in figure skating,” Rippon, 29, told PEOPLE exclusively. “During the final warm-ups, each skater is allowed one run with their music before the actual competition. As skaters, we are trained to complete that run regardless of what happens so that you can rehearse your full routine.”
He added, “It is also an unwritten rule of skating, that whoever’s music is playing during the warm-ups, that skater has the right of way on the ice.”
Rippon was also confident that Bell did not bully Eun-soo. “I have worked with Mariah this past year on her choreography and have trained with her for several years. Both Mariah and Lin Eun-soo’s coach, Rafael, was also my coach,” he said.
“I can say that bullying was never tolerated in any of our training sessions, nor would Rafael allow it to happen during his watch. Knowing Mariah as a friend and competitor, I also believe she would never intentionally hurt anyone, it is not in her character,” Rippon continued.
“They are both professional figure skaters competing on a world stage and do not need these distractions. From what I’ve seen they have not allowed this to interfere with their mission as they both skated their short programs beautifully and with focus and precision,” he added. “It’s time to move on and let them continue to concentrate on the competition.”
Rippon also previously defended Bell on Twitter, shortly after the accusations were made.
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