Adelia Petrosyan: program, qualifications and prospects for the 2026 Olympics
Russian figure skater Adelia Petrosyan is approaching the 2026 Olympic Games in the status of one of the most technically equipped singles athletes in the world. She secured her participation in the tournament ahead of schedule, having successfully qualified and confirmed her high ambitions. The focus is on programs with elements of ultra-C and a bet on the most complex content. What Petrosyan intends to surprise the judges and competitors with and what her chances are in the fight for Olympic gold, is in the Izvestia article.
Biography of Adelia Petrosyan: the path to the 2026 Olympics
Adelia Petrosyan was born on June 5, 2007 in Moscow. Petrosyan started skating at the age of four. She took her first steps in sports at the Moskvich Sports Training Center, where she trained under the guidance of Irina Strakhovaya and Alexey Shemet.
In 2019, the athlete joined the Eteri Tutberidze group at the Khrustalny branch of the Sambo-70 Center for Sports and Education. From that moment on, Petrosyan began to actively progress technically and regularly perform at major national and international competitions.
Adelia Petrosyan at the 2022 Russian Championships in the short program with coaches Eteri Tutberidze, Sergey Dudakov, Daniil Gleichenhausen
In her junior career, the figure skater won the Junior Grand Prix in Slovenia and became the silver medalist of the Russian Junior Championship. After moving to the adult level, Petrosyan repeatedly won the stages of the Russian Grand Prix and was consistently among the winners of the Russian championships, gaining a foothold in the status of one of the leaders of women's single skating in the country.
Adelia Petrosyan is known as an athlete with one of the most difficult technical sets in modern women's skating. She has triple axel and quadruple jumps in her arsenal, including rare elements for women's competitions. At various times, she was one of the first skaters to successfully perform the Rittberger quadruple at competitions.
Petrosyan is currently continuing his training in the Khrustalny group under the guidance of Eteri Tutberidze, Sergei Dudakov and Daniil Gleikhengauz and represents the Sambo-70 school.
Qualification and status at the Olympiad
Adelia Petrosyan won a nominal quota for the 2026 Olympic Games following the results of the ISU Skate to Milano qualification tournament in Beijing, where she led after the short and free programs and became the first in the final protocol with a total of 209.63 points. The International Olympic Committee officially allowed Petrosyan to participate in the Games as a neutral athlete.
In the spring of 2025, the International Skating Union announced plans to allow Russian figure skaters to qualify for the 2026 Olympics in a neutral status, which caused optimism among athletes and fans, but in practice it turned out otherwise. The ISU nevertheless allowed participation, however, under strict restrictions: one athlete or duet in each sport, without national symbols — the flag and the anthem, and only after careful verification of the lack of support for its own and links with military or law enforcement agencies.
On the recommendation of the IOC, only Adelia Petrosyan and Peter Gumennik received the right to participate in the selection, while the rest of the applications were rejected for "political reasons," as reported by Sport-Express.
Adelia Petrosyan's program at the 2026 Olympics
At the moment, there is no official information in open sources about the musical accompaniment of the programs that Adelia Petrosyan plans to perform at the 2026 Olympic Games. At the same time, in the 2025/26 season, at key starts, the figure skater has already demonstrated short and arbitrary programs, built with an emphasis on high technical complexity.
At national competitions, Petrosyan confidently performed the triple axel and complex jumping combinations, which was reflected in high baseline scores and final results. In the previous season, the athlete also worked with programs that included elements of ultra-si, and, according to relevant sports publications, she considered using updated versions of these productions at qualifying starts, with adjustments to the choreography and structure.
Adelia Petrosyan competes in the women's single skating short program at the Russian Figure Skating Championships 2026 in St. Petersburg
Petrosyan remains one of the few figure skaters in the world who consistently works with elements of increased difficulty, including triple axel and quadruple jumps. It is her technical potential that has set her apart from most of her competitors in women's single skating over the past few seasons. After suffering an injury, the athlete managed to return a number of complex elements to the arsenal, but the issue of stability remains a key factor in preparing for the main start of the quadrennial.
Figure skater's head coach Eteri Tutberidze noted in an interview with Okko Sport that Petrosyan's preparation for the Olympic season took place under conditions of serious emotional and physical stress. According to her, the injury at some point called into question the athlete's participation in competitions, and after returning to training, the team faced a loss of stability in triple jumps.
As Tutberidze emphasized, additional pressure was created by the need for accelerated restoration of ultra-si elements. At the same time, the triple axel, according to the coach, remains an unstable and "episodic" element for Petrosyan, which requires a careful approach when forming the final content of Olympic programs.
Despite these difficulties, at the Russian Championships in St. Petersburg, 18-year-old Petrosyan managed to show a confident performance, scoring 235.95 points in the sum of the short and free programs and becoming the national champion for the third time in a row.
Adelia Petrosyan, who took first place in the women's competition of the Russian Figure Skating Championship 2026 in St. Petersburg
Speaking about the prospects of the Olympic season, Tutberidze stressed that the final content of the programs has not yet been approved. According to her, the choice will directly depend on which elements can be brought to the greatest stability.
At the same time, the coach made it clear that competing at the Olympics without ultra-si is not considered a competitive option, since in the absence of an international rating, a Russian figure skater risks starting the competition with the first warm-up and not having a sporting advantage.
If the triple axel does not become a reliable element, the emphasis will probably be placed on the quadruple sheepskin coats. Tutberidze also noted that although Petrosyan is gradually improving technically compared to his former self, the key problem remains confidence in the execution of complex elements precisely at the competitive moment. According to her, the psychological willingness to take risks at the right time remains a crucial factor on the way to a successful Olympic performance.
Chances of winning the Olympic Games in 2026
Sports analysts and observers note that Adelia Petrosyan is considered as one of the contenders for medals in women's single skating at the Olympic Games. At the same time, the struggle for the highest step of the podium, in their opinion, will be complicated by high competition and the need for error-free execution of the most complex elements.
The results of the skater's performances at the national championships and Grand Prix stages indicate a high level of preparation, however, a number of elements of ultra-si remain unstable. Experts emphasize that it is the stability of the rentals in the face of Olympic pressure that will be the determining factor in the fight for the final result.
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