Russian figure skaters were allowed to qualify for the Olympics. Why it matters

The International Skating Union (ISU) has allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in competitions, which will serve as a selection for the Winter Olympics in 2026. The national figure skating team will be able to include one Russian representative in each discipline. What criteria should meet the athletes to get to the Olympics - in the material "Izvestia".

What the ISUdecided

- ISU became the second winter international sports federation, which after 2022 allowed Russian athletes to compete in neutral status. Earlier in December, the International Ski Mountaineering Federation (ISMF) allowed Russians to participate in their competitions. However, the ISU allowed only those starts that will be qualifiers for the Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, so as not to deprive the athletes of the opportunity to compete at the main tournament of four years.

- Russian figure skaters will only be able to compete at the Olympic qualifying tournament, which will be held from September 17 to 21, 2025 in Beijing. The team will include one representative in each discipline: men's and women's single skating, pairs skating and ice dancing. They will be able to compete for the only available quota for the Olympics. In total, men and women will have five vouchers to Milan for all competing countries, pairs will have three, and dance duos will have four. Selected skaters will perform only in individual competitions at the Olympics, the team tournament is not available for them.

- Speed skaters and short track speed skaters will compete in the fall and winter of 2025 at four stages of the World Cup. According to their results, the lists of participants in the Olympic Games will be determined. As with figure skaters, only one athlete in each individual discipline can be declared. At the same time, one skater will be entitled to perform at several distances, if he proves himself at them.

- The ISU decision concerns Russian and Belarusian athletes separately, that is, one representative of each country will be able to perform in each discipline. At the same time, Russians will not be able to quickly change their citizenship and try to pass the selection through Belarus - only those who had a passport of the corresponding country as of March 1, 2022 will be able to join the team.

- Together with the main athlete selected to perform at international starts, each national team will be able to declare one more, a reserve participant in case of injury. Coaches and personal staff will also be able to accompany the athletes. Russian and Belarusian judges have not yet been restored in their rights and will not work at the competitions.

What conditions ISUhas set

- ISU proclaimed that athletes from Russia and Belarus will have to compete in a neutral status. This implies a number of requirements, the violation of which deprives the right to compete not only the main athlete, but also the reserve. In case of disqualification, the athletes will still have the right to sue the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

- Athletes who actively support the special military operation to protect Donbass or have a contract with the military and security forces will not be allowed to participate. Under support will be perceived public speeches, including in social networks, participation in events and demonstration of certain symbols. A special external commission will monitor compliance with these requirements. The ISU noted that third parties will be able to anonymously transfer any information to the commission, which concerns Russians and Belarusians.

- Athletes will also have to undergo mandatory, stricter doping control, which will be carried out by organizations outside Russia and Belarus. Selected figure skaters and speed skaters will be included in the ISU testing pool with a mandatory indication of their location for out-of-competition sampling.

- To obtain neutral status, athletes will have to fill out a questionnaire. In it they will have to provide links to their social networks, list their posts related to special operations (including deleted ones), and provide information about their contract with the military or law enforcement agencies, if any. At the same time, the ISU did not specify what fee should be paid to consider the application - other federations set a fee of up to €5 thousand for this procedure.

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- After receiving the neutral status athletes will not have the right to perform in equipment with national and military symbols, to present their flag and use the national anthem at the awards ceremony. Their uniforms will have to have one color that will not be associated with their home country. Athletes and staff will also be banned from giving interviews and comments during the competition.

Who will be able to represent Russia

- Skaters and skaters must apply for participation in the competition by February 28, 2025. ISU did not specify how the internal selection for the team should take place, leaving it to the national federations to form their own lists of participants.

- The ISU's decision to grant neutral status came in the midst of the Russian figure skating and speed skating championships and just days after similar short track speed skating competitions. Usually, their results are used to form the Russian national team for major international tournaments.

- However, in this case, not all athletes were ready for the fact that in addition to medals at stake will be a possible participation in the Olympic Games. It is possible that in January next year additional starts will be held, where the vouchers for Olympic selection will be drawn. Or the coaching staff will make a decision on the team formation, guided by internal considerations and data on the condition of the athletes.

Why it matters

- Russian figure skaters have the opportunity to compete at the Olympic Games in 2026 if they manage to fulfill all ISU requirements and qualify at the Beijing tournament. Although the team will include only one representative in each discipline, meaning no more than six people in total, it will be a full participation. In a number of summer sports, Russians were not allowed to compete at least under neutral status, causing many of them to miss the recent Paris Olympics. Figure skating, speed skating and short track speed skating will no longer have that prospect.

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- The ISU's decision could become an example for other sports federations. It is one of the largest organizations in winter sports, more influential than which can be considered only the International Ski Federation (FIS) and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). If the latter will not make a decision on the admission of the Russians, as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not approve the participation of Russians in team sports, then the FIS, which unites six ski disciplines, the actions of the ISU may have some influence.

- At the moment, the ISU has only allowed competitors to compete in Olympic qualifying, barring the Russians from World Championships and other tournaments. However, if this whole process goes smoothly and shows that the participation of Russians does not harm the sport, but only develops it, there will be hope for expanding the list of tournaments. If the ISU had already allowed participation in the next World Championships, it would have been possible to get not one, but two or three quotas for the Olympic Games.