Admission was granted: Russian athletes are returning to international competitions

The Russian Skating Union has announced that the International Federation (ISU) has allowed our athletes to compete in a neutral status. This means the return of both adults and juniors to the world stage in three Olympic sports: speed skating, figure skating and short track. A few minutes after the announcement of the good news from the TFR, an official ISU document was released. It will mark the end of an era that has lasted since March 2022, when Russians were not allowed to participate in international competitions.

What the ISU requires

So far, we are talking about performing without a flag, anthem or any national symbols. At the same time, athletes must meet a number of criteria, including the lack of public support for their sports since February 2022 and non-membership in law enforcement agencies (probably including CSKA and Dynamo). There is no need to condemn SVO.

A similar practice is already used in a number of other international federations and used to be a universal admission model, although in recent months some federations have gone further and abolished even these criteria. The ISU indicates that the decision on the participation of athletes in competitions will be made by the organization's Council, the same one that previously eased sanctions, but it can refer to separate monitoring projects for verification. Therefore, Russian figure skaters, speed skaters, short-track skaters and synchronized swimmers should be very attentive to their social networks, likes and other digital footprints.

The document, in particular, says: "Each skater and member of the athlete's support staff must provide the confirmation form required by the ISU. ISU processes only those personal data that are necessary for the assessment of compliance, in accordance with applicable data protection laws."

Snow admission: when will Russia return to the international winter sports competitions

The main decisions on the participation of our athletes can be made in the summer of 2026.

A breakthrough?

Judging by the fact that the decision was published three weeks after the congress and the first meeting of the ISU executive committee, it was the result of difficult negotiations and compromises. Before the Congress, the possibility of full admission of Russians and Belarusians was not denied. But, given the history of relations with the International Skating Union, it seemed that admission of juniors for a bureaucratic organization would also be appropriate.

Earlier, our athletes participated in the Olympic Games in a truncated team — in Milan, we were represented by Adelia Petrosyan and Peter Gumennik. Couples and dancers were not allowed to participate in this tournament according to the criteria of neutrality.

Therefore, a separate issue is the composition of the Russian participants in the upcoming international competitions. The selection process is likely to be as rigorous as possible, and the list of admissions will be limited. And this can create additional tension within the national team: the competition is transferred not only to the ice, but also to the level of compliance with the formal criteria of the ISU.

When are the first tournaments?

The real return of adult Russians may happen as early as 2027 — earlier, Sport-Express reported that only three junior Grand Prix stages are on the Ministry of Sports calendar for 2026 - in China, Thailand and Turkey. The junior competitions start in August, so our guys need to go through the necessary procedures as soon as possible.

Russians were not allowed to participate in the ISU Adult Grand Prix series, even by changing the "return rule" - previously, successful figure skaters could return after a pause based on the results of the last 10 years at the World Championships, and now four (the time obviously coincides with the suspension of Russians). But the neutrals will have quotas for the European and World Championships. By January next year, someone will receive this status.

Important clarification: Neutral athletes are allowed to participate in team competitions. And in the spring World Figure Skating Team Championships, and in the speed skating relay races, and in synchronized skating.

The return of Russian athletes, albeit in a neutral status, will inevitably affect the balance of power in world figure skating, speed skating and short track. The main thing is that we waited and endured these 1,500 days of solitude. Everything should be different now. If not quite good, then at least a little better.