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Russian skaters are returning to international competitions, but not in full force. Who will go to the Olympic selection in Beijing?

The International Union of Skatytsy (ISU) approved the neutral status of only four Russian skaters. Russian athletes will compete in qualifications for the Olympic Games, which will be held in September in Beijing, only in solitary male and female skating. Sports couples and dance duets will not be able to perform. The athletes, basic and spare, will compete in a neutral status three years after the detachment of the national team.

The New Gazeta Europe studied whom the Figure Skating Federation of Russia (FFKKR) was going to send to the Olympic Games in 2026, who ultimately received a chance and what are the chances of Russian athletes in the international arena.

"Arbitrariness"

This week, ISU published a list of those admitted to the selection on the OI. The organization studied whether the athletes supported the invasion of Ukraine and whether the army has ties. If a cross was put on skaters, then the spare in this discipline was not allowed to participate.

Peter Gumennik will perform at the competition in solitary male skating and Adelia Petrosyan in the female. Spare Vladislav Dikzhi and Alina Gorbacheva will go with them.

“Although the applications were submitted to all disciplines and distances, not all athletes passed strict selection. Their possible replacements were also recognized as inconsistent, since the replacement was allowed only in case of injury, and not because of the inconsistency, ”the union said.

The International Union of Skatyers has rejected Russian sports couples and dance duets. Thus, the declared Anastasia Mishina and Alexander Gallyamov, Alexander Stepanova and Ivan Bukin will not be able to speak at competitions. According to RIA Novosti, spare Russia wanted to send Alexander Boykov with Dmitry Kozlovsky and Vasilisa Kaganovskaya with Maxim Nekrasov.

The “stripping” of social networks did not help: in December 2024, after the ISU decision on the partial admission of Russians for the Olympic qualification, Gallyamov deleted all publications with criticism of the head of the IOC Tomas Bach, including ironic posts like: “ Tell me, please, what does the Idiomatic expression An Olympic Medal IS Forever? (Olympic medal - forever). Senkue Vei Mach. " This did not affect the decision on admission.

Honored CCCR coach Tatyana Tarasova called the verdict of the international organization arbitrariness. According to her, in paired skating at the Olympiads for 50 years, Soviet and Russian skaters were leading.

“How can a country that defeated all these years and determined the development of paired skiing in the world, to prevent the Olympic Games? This is arbitrariness, ”she said .

Moreover, the eminent coach said that she would not even go to the tournament. In her opinion, "they will not allow anyone to win."

Olympic champion Alexei Yagudin, on the contrary, offers to go to the competition. “I think that those who received this neutral status need to take up this opportunity, go and fight for a place at the Olympics, prove that you are the best,” he said .

Sports journalist Elena Vaitskhovskaya believes that the responsibility for the lack of part of the athletes before the competition lies with Russian officials.

“In part, the National Figure Skating Federation is also to blame. Submitting lists to ISU, officials were most likely guided by logic: they will not be allowed the main ones - spare ones will stand in their place. The logic was crossed out, ”she wrote in a column.

The figure of figure skating in Russia issued a statement that she had long and stubbornly tried to find out the reason for the unremarking couples, but ISU said that they were not obliged to be explained. International officials said they went to the exception of the rules so that Russian athletes could compete at all.

Apparently, even such a trip to the Olympics is a breakthrough. Participation in all international tournaments is the most important thing for Russia now, according to the President of the Federation Anton Sikharulidze.

Who was not allowed

At the end of February, the FFKKR submitted a list of candidates to ISU and warned that she would not voice the surname before receiving feedback. Among the formal criteria for candidates are a Russian passport received before March 1, 2022, and the delivery of a doping test outside the Russian Federation after February 1, 2025. The skaters and team members should not be associated with the athletes disqualified for doping, and also do not have contracts with the army or national security authorities.

After submitting a list to ISU, Tatyana Tarasova said that it was not difficult to decide . A source of Match TV in January reported that the winners of the December Championship of Russia will go to the selection.

Indeed, in dancing on the ice, Alexander Stepanova and Ivan Bukin were supposed to perform, in the category of sports couples - Anastasia Mishina and Alexander Gallamov, and in female single skating - Adelia Petrosyan. The fact that their choice is obvious was confirmed by the head of the FFKKR Anton Sikharulidze.

According to the insider “Lenta.ru”, 29-year-old Stepanov and 31-year-old Bukin, who do not go anywhere, missed the February final of the Russian Grand Prix in order to avoid injuries. Partners have been performing together since 2007. They are two-time vice-champions of Europe, three-time bronze medalists of European championships, four-time champions of Russia. At the 2018 Olympics, Bukin was not allowed after the Russian doping scandal in 2014, although the athlete in Sochi did not perform.

23-year-old Anastasia Mishina and 25-year-old Alexander Gallyamov last season won everything where they participated without making a rude mistake. Sikharulidze, the Olympic champion Salt Lake City in paired skating, called the partners “persistent tin soldiers” for their stability. Under the removal of Russian athletes from the competition, the couple became bronze medalists of the games-2022, world and European champions. Mishina confirmed to participate in the upcoming Olympics, Mishina confirmed .

Russian skaters, who were not allowed, are preparing to dispute the refusal of neutral status, the publication "Athlet" reports with reference to their own sources. According to journalists, athletes have already addressed Swiss lawyers to study opportunities.

Solonies

Adelia Petrosyan won five out of five starts in the season, fourth jumps are confidently jumping, its set of elements is “just incredible content”. Sikharulidze believes that Petrosyan's clean rents are “on the verge of brilliant”. Adelia is the best loner in Russia for the second year, a seventeen -year -old girl - a two -time champion of Russia, won three times in the final of the country's Grand Prix. In her own words of the skater, she is not enough to perform inside the country, she wants competition and "so that one place is on fire."

“At this stage, it is the strongest. She proves this all season. Therefore, I hope that she will be sent to the qualifying tournament for the Olympics. With her clean rentals - no [foreigners will not compete], ” said Anna Pogorilaya, the bronze medalist of the World Cup.

Petrosyan never protruded abroad at an adult level, and as a junior took gold and bronze at the Grand Prix in Slovenia.

The second number with her will go 17-year-old Alina Gorbacheva, the Russian champion among juniors and the bronze medalist of the Russian championship of 2025. Sports media did not write about her in advance, but according to Pogorila, the girl showed herself well.

The coach of Gorbacheva Sofya Fedchenko spoke with restraint:

“We just get ready for the next season and train. What is the mood? Honestly, I haven't read the news yet. Only from you I heard it, I’ll think about it later. ”

Loners

The chosen among men was to decide in the February final of the Russian Grand Prix. Before him, the favorites were considered Vladislav Dikzhi and Peter Gumennik. The first was praised by Tatyana Tarasova: “Today, Dikzhi is the best. His progress is so clear that even the blind cannot but notice. ”

Peter Gumennik won the Grand Prix, he received 314.54 points for two programs (better than anyone at the European Championship-2025) and forced to grab the head of the President of the FFCK. “Already I don’t even remember that over the past one and a half to two years, the men have caused such emotions,” he admired .

Dikzhi became the fourth. Both, according to the bronze medalist of the Figure Skating World Cup, Elena Radonova, were worthy to fight for participation in Italian games.

“I believe that there are two main applicants - these are a Gumennik and Dikzhi. For several seasons, the gupornik rides absolutely cool, worthy. And he is worthy to go to the qualifying tournament, like Dikzhi. Between them should unfold the main struggle for a ticket to the Olympics, ”she said .

The silver medalist of the 2018 Games in the team tournament, Alexander Enbert, explained that both athletes are strong, both are worthy and both of them “showed good skating” for two years. According to him, the Federation did not declare selection criteria, so it is difficult to determine the Olympic candidate.

Both will go to Beijing: Gumennik - the first number, Dikzhzhi - on a replacement. The winner of the Olympic Games Ilya Averbukh explained this decision by the stability of Peter.

Will the Russians be competitive?

After an almost three -year absence on international arenas, the level of skiing of Russians raises questions. Athletes were left without competition with foreigners, but they diversified the internal season: the Russian Cup turned into a Grand Prix, organized an open tournament “Russian Call” and legalized a commercial jump tournament.

At the same time, at least 18 skaters, including juniors, replaced sports citizenship. Career was completed by the world champion, Europe and winner of the Olympic Games Evgeny Medvedev, European champion Sofia Sophia, the Universiade medalist Stanislav Konstantinova and no less eminent athletes - Daria Usacheva, Anastasia Tarakanova, Anna Kolomenskaya, the ice dancers Anastasia Skoptsova and Kirill Aleshin.

In 2024, Elena Radionova stated that compared to the 2022 Olympics, Russian loners became weaker, but the lonelines became stronger. The American journalist Dave Liz also wrote about the fall in Russia, looking at the control rolls. He criticized trainers for setting ballet programs.

Now the sports commentator of Iolande Chen is sure that the men are ready to “jump out in the international arena at any moment and prove themselves in the best way.”

“But the girls will be at the level of Japanese and Hendricksons, performing the same triple Lutz, triple sheepskin coat, triple rittberger. This is the last century, ”she said.

The silver medalist of the Olympic Games Alexander Enbert also believes that before removing international starts, competition in female single skating inside the country was higher. However, in 2023 he argued that competition in international tournaments doubled without Russians. If you get into the three at the Russian championship, then at the European level “you don’t have to worry at all, and everything will be all right,” he said.

Coach Sergei Davydov is in solidarity : “Of course, [world] level has fallen. This is an indisputable fact. Without us, without Russia, this is so. ”

Back in 2022, CBC Sports stated that the absence of Russian and Chinese skaters (probably refused to perform due to Covid) at the World Cup will most of all affect women's and paired competitions. On the one hand, that tournament was left without the strongest, and on the other, it became more interesting without obvious favorites.

“Due to the removal of Russians for some foreign skaters who ride a long time, but do not perform ultra-consuming content, a window of opportunities opened,” the sports journalist Philip Hersh voiced a similar thought two years later.

He also wrote that without Russians who dominated figure skating since 2014, the level of world competitions fell. Over two seasons, only Japanese Sumyoshi tried to fulfill four seasons at the world Grand Prix in solitary skating, the observer noted.

“Thus, the jumping revolution in the female solitary skating, which began in 2018 with the quadruple jump of Alexandra Trusova, which was then 13 years old, seemed to be thrown back,” said the Hersh.

Referring to statistics, he also concluded that after removing juniors from Russia, they still try to perform the most difficult jumps and, upon returning to the world arena, will be ready to break to the top (“Jump to the top”).

Who is the leader in the world without Russia

While Russian skaters dissected the ice of domestic arenas, world pedestals were not empty. Gold at the last three world championships was mainly taken by the Americans and the Japanese. Among women outside the competition, Kaori Sakamoto with three world champions in a row and one final of the Grand Prix. The top is also American Ibaba Levito and Belgian Luna Hendricks - both silver medalists of the world championships.

In solitary male skating, American Ilya Malinin shines (victory at the World Cup-2024, World Cup, 2025 and in two finals of the Grand Prix). Japanese Syma Uno will definitely not go to the Olympics. He won two World Cup and one Grand Prix final, but ended his career in May 2024.

He returned to Sofita Kazakhstan. Mikhail Shaidorov won the tournament of four continents and became the second Kazakhstani who succeeded. At the last world championship, the athlete got silver and qualified at OI-2026.

The Kazakhstani skater Sofya Samodelkin, who previously represented Russia, became the 14th. She turned out to be the third at the last Universiade, and in 2024 she won the Kazakhstan championship with a margin of more than 40 points.

At the World Cup 2025, the ex-Russians Anastasia Gubanova, speaking for Georgia, tore off the short program and took it as much as 28th place. Despite this, the athlete can compete with the Russians. In 2023, Gubanova won the gold of the European Championship, and the next two years, the second at the European championship was twice.

Beijing

Petrosyan, Gumennik, Gorbachev and Dikzhi will show themselves on control rolled rolled cans in mid -August. A month later, Adelia Petrosyan and Peter Gumennik - the first team numbers - will have to demonstrate to the world what they are capable of after three years of international ban.

The qualifying tournament itself will be held from September 17 to 21 in Beijing. Russians cannot be walking through the mixed zone (there journalists take comments), participate in press conferences and give interviews.

To get to the Olympics, athletes will need to take places not lower than the fifth. Quotes for participation in games are registered, so those who perform in Beijing will have to go to the Olympics in February. You can replace the athlete only before selection and only because of the injury.