Figure skaters Stepanova and Bukin asked the IOC president to explain their non-admission to the Olympic Games

On May 17, Russian ice dancing champions Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin recorded a video message to the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Kirsty Coventry, asking them to explain the reasons why they were not allowed to participate in the qualifying competitions for the Olympic Games (OI) 2026 in Italy.

The skaters noted that they learned with pain that they were not included in the list of eligible athletes of the Russian Federation. At the same time, without receiving any official explanations for such a decision. The couple requested comments from the International Skating Union (ISU) and Ms. Coventry's personal intervention in the situation.

"We want to understand why we were excluded from the list of candidates. <...> We understand that the decision was not made by you personally, but we believe that a person with your experience and authority is able to influence the actions of sports organizations. Ms. Coventry, <...> you understand better than anyone what it means to live the dream of the Olympics," the athletes say in a video on their Telegram channels.

This is the second time in their career that athletes have been left out of the Olympic Games through no fault of their own, Sport-Express clarifies. In 2018, the couple was deprived of the right to participate in the Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, because the IOC simply did not allow Bukin to compete without explanation.

"We ask you, as a representative of the Olympic movement, to intervene and demand from the ISU an official explanation of the reasons for our ineligibility. We ask you to give us back the right to a fair fight, to give us back our dream. We believe in the Olympic spirit," Stepanova and Bukin said.

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Earlier, on May 13, the International Skating Union (ISU) approved applications for participation in the qualifying tournament for the 2026 Olympics for 22 Russian figure skaters, speed skaters and short track skaters. The names of Bukin and Stepanova do not appear on this list. A similar decision was made at the request of six figure skaters and seven skaters from Belarus.

On the same day, the Russian Skating Union (TFR) added that the Russian side is discussing with the ISU the possibility of obtaining neutral status for athletes who were not allowed to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics.