Russian luge skier Pavel Repilov performed at the 2026 Olympics: who is he and what is he known for

Italy will host the Winter Olympic Games from 6 to 22 February. Pavel Repilov will represent Russia in luge. The young athlete has already become famous on the national stage: he became the national champion twice (2022, 2023) and won silver at the Youth Olympic Games in 2020. Read more about Pavel's biography and his sporting career in the Izvestia article.

Biography of Pavel Repilov

Pavel Repilov was born on July 16, 2002 in Dmitrov, Moscow region. He has a twin sister, Alina, and an older brother, Roman Repilov, a famous Russian luge skier. Roman is a three-time world champion, multiple European Championships medalist, two-time World Cup winner, nine-time World Cup stage winner and multiple Russian champion.

Pavel followed in his older brother's footsteps and started doing luge at the age of seven. According to Roman Repilov, in their family, children from an early age were set up for constant development and striving for high results. He noted that it was easier for his younger brother, as he looked up to him, while Roman himself had to focus on stronger rivals.

Pavel himself emphasizes that there was no rivalry between the brothers. In an interview with Match TV, he noted that their relationship had always been based on mutual support. One person's victories brought joy to the other, and joint successes were perceived especially positively.

Pavel Repilov is a graduate of the Albert Demchenko Olympic Reserve School. He received his higher education in physical education at the University of Synergy.

Pavel Repilov's sports career

Pavel Repilov's first coach was Olga Ryabova, and later he continued his training under the guidance of Alexandra Parfentieva. The athlete actively competed in junior competitions and quickly established himself internationally. In 2020, at the Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne, Switzerland, Repilov won the silver medal in the individual race, and also won the team relay as part of the Russian national team together with Diana Loginova, Mikhail Karnaukhov and Yuri Chirva.

Since 2021, Repilov began competing in adult competitions. The debut at this level turned out to be promising. In early January, he won the Nations Cup in Latvia. However, at the end of the month, at his first World Championship, the athlete suffered a head injury during qualifying and was forced to miss the main race. In the autumn of the same year, Repilov continued to gain experience at the World Cup stages: in November in Sochi, he took 14th place, and in December he improved his result, finishing 11th.

He started the 2022 season with 12th place in Sigulda and 18th in Oberhof, finishing the overall World Cup standings in 18th position. In March, Repilov achieved notable success at the Russian Championships in Sochi, where he won two gold medals — in single races and in the sprint. These results allowed him to join the training of the national Olympic team, and in May 2022, the athlete was awarded the title of Master of sports.

In March 2023, Pavel Repilov again rose to the podium at the Russian Championship. As a member of the Moscow Region team, he won the relay race, and in the sprint he won the silver medal, ahead of his older brother Roman Repilov, who took third place.

The beginning of 2024 passed for the athlete under the sign of the All-Russian Sports Contest. In the mixed relay, his team became the third, and in the individual race, Repilov showed the fifth result. After the competition, he noted that not everything he had planned had been realized, despite his good health and form, pointing out possible technical nuances in setting up the sled. Pavel Repilov failed to become one of the winners at the Russian Championship that year.

In November 2024, he won the silver medal of the Cup of Russia in the relay as part of the Moscow Region team. The victory was won by the Moscow national team, for which his older brother played. In January 2025, Repilov won the bronze medal at the Cup of Cups in Sochi in the individual single-person sledge race. However, the 2025 Russian Championship turned out to be without medals for him again: he took fifth place in individual competitions.

The personal life of Pavel Repilov

Very little is known about Pavel Repilov's personal life. He hardly ever appears in public outside of sporting events, and his resemblance to his brother Roman is often noted in photographs.

The end of 2025 was a difficult ordeal for the Repilov family. Pavel's older brother, multiple world luge champion Roman Repilov, along with European silver medalist Alexander Peretyagin, was at the center of the scandal. The athletes were accused of embezzling 11 million rubles allocated from the budget for the purchase of sports equipment. By a court decision, they were placed in custody in the Krasnoyarsk pre-trial detention center for the duration of the investigation. A court hearing in the case is scheduled for the end of February 2026.

These events were a serious emotional blow for Pavel and the whole family, but the young athlete continues to focus on his career and performances.

Pavel Repilov's schedule of performances at the 2026 Olympics

Pavel Repilov will compete in the men's single sledge at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. His races will be held in two days:

• Saturday, February 7 — 1st check-in at 19:00 and 2nd check-in at 20:32;

• Sunday, February 8 — 3rd race at 19:00 and 4th race (final) at 20:31.

All races will be held in Moscow time. This is the key event of the season, in which Pavel will try to demonstrate the best result in the international arena.