“All achievements are reset”: ISU reduced to a minimum the quota of the Russian national figure skating team at the 2023 World Cup

“We are thrown out of the so-called holiday of life”

The deprivation of the Russian national figure skating team of the maximum quota for the 2023 World Cup became known on Wednesday afternoon.

The International Skating Union (ISU) on the official website announced the number of participants by country for this tournament.

Taking into account the absence of domestic skaters at the previous world championship, ISU decided to leave the team the opportunity to declare only one participant or a pair in each event if the Russian Federation is allowed to compete.

The same goes for the junior world championship.

At the same time, the representation at the European Championship 2023 remained the same, since the Russians managed to secure it for themselves by performing at the European Championship in Tallinn.

ISU Honorary Vice President Alexander Lakernik, commenting on the organization's verdict, called it predictable.

At the same time, he expressed confidence that Russia would fight for the return of quotas.

“Our athletes participated in the European Championship 2022 and, accordingly, thanks to the results, they received all the quotas.

Since we were not at the 2022 World Cup, there is only one ticket.

If we are not allowed to the Euro-2023, in a year there will also be only one.

Russia did not participate, because it was not allowed there, and the ISU acted formally ... Whether any other decisions are possible in terms of Russia is a topic for a separate discussion.

But the Russian Federation, of course, will fight for the return of quotas, ”Match TV quoted Lakernik as saying.

In turn, the general director of the Russian Figure Skating Federation, Alexander Kogan, reacted calmly to the incident.

He recalled that the Russians had not yet been allowed to participate in international competitions, and therefore it makes no sense to discuss the details.

"Nothing to talk about.

You are asking a very abstract and uninteresting question, ”said the functionary of RIA Novosti.

Alexander Zhulin, mentor of Olympic champions Nikita Katsalapov and Victoria Sinitsina, also spoke about reducing quotas.

He expressed the hope that common sense will prevail and figure skating will no longer be mixed with politics.

“We need to somehow live on, we are trying to put on programs, perform in some tournaments and don’t dig so deep.

I think that people have not fully realized that we have been thrown out of the so-called holiday of life, ”TASS quotes a specialist.

It remains to be stated that the Russian team, three and a half years before the Olympic Games in Italy, found itself in a difficult situation, and in case of admission to the March 2023 World Cup in Saitama, it will need to show an almost perfect performance in order to regain the maximum quota for the next championship of the planet (three singles or pairs). 

According to the regulations, in order to receive it, with one speaking representative of the country, the Russians will be required to occupy a position no lower than the second.

And in order for two skaters or couples to go to the 2024 World Cup, it will be enough to get into the top 10.

There should be no problems with the solution of this problem for girls.

In case of admission to the World Cup, the strongest Russian woman is able to win at least silver, be it Kamila Valieva, Alexandra Trusova or Anna Shcherbakova.

In sports pairs, the margin of safety is also quite large, taking into account the fact that Evgenia Tarasova / Vladimir Morozov and Anastasia Mishina / Alexander Gallyamov took medals at the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

But in ice dancing, it will be more difficult for Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov to get into the top two in the face of fierce competition and colossal pressure.

For men, all that remains is to count on at least a place in the top ten and winning two tickets.

At the 2022 Olympics, the best of the Russians, Evgeny Semenenko, was eighth.

“This is a blow to both skaters and coaches”

According to experts interviewed by RT, ISU made an extremely unfair decision, but it turned out to be expected, and therefore it remains only to work and hope for admission to the tournament in Saitama.

They do not see the point and challenge the verdict.

So, the three-time Olympic champion Irina Rodnina suggested that in this case they simply would not listen to the FFKKR, since the Russians did not participate in the last world championship.

“Albeit not through their own fault, but domestic skaters missed him.

In fact, all their achievements were reset to zero.

In theory, one could take the results of the 2021 World Cup, but this is also not entirely correct.

In this case, claims will arise from other countries that skated at the last World Cup and have grounds for their quotas.

Russia in this situation is the injured party, but who cares?

Nobody but ourselves.

It is extremely difficult to challenge such a decision, since it is made by many foreign federations, which, to put it mildly, are not very friendly towards us.

And even more they do not like our victories.

They didn’t give a damn about Russia before the World Cup, and now they proceed from what they have.

Even if we try to go to court, representatives of other countries will be outraged, and their voices will sound much louder, ”Rodnina complained.

She sympathized with domestic skaters who may lose the opportunity to go to the world championship, but recalled that the restrictions and sanctions affected not only them.

“Of course, they will suffer greatly if we have a minimum quota.

But nothing can be done.

Lose not only figure skaters, but all domestic athletes.

Football players, for example, also lost the opportunity to qualify for the World Cup.

In this regard, the skaters are no different, ”added Rodnina.

In turn, world champion Maria Butyrskaya stressed that the current state of affairs suits many teams.

When the Russians were not allowed to the 2022 World Cup, the rivals got the opportunity to win medals that they had not counted on before.

The domestic team's minimum quota also improves their chances of success in the next tournament.

“Let's start with the fact that our athletes were initially unfairly suspended from almost all international competitions.

Figure skaters were not allowed to participate in the World Cup.

Everyone turned against Russia.

And, of course, after the recent championship of the planet, many were satisfied that in the absence of our stars they took awards that they could not even dream of, ”said Butyrskaya.

At the same time, she, like Rodnina, saw no point in trying to challenge the ISU decision and noted that Russia now has virtually no opportunity to protect the rights of its own athletes.

“We understand how unfair this is, but we can’t do anything.

Nobody is going to listen to us and hear us.

If we try to be indignant, they will say: “What are you?

Say thank you for letting you in at all!”

Therefore, I think we need to keep our fists for the fact that the national team is at least allowed to speak at the World Cup, ”added Butyrskaya.

According to her, figure skaters are most at risk from reducing the quota, since the competition between them is too high.

“It turns out that only one will get the opportunity to take part in the championship of the planet.

On the other hand, they introduced an age limit, and therefore they will still have the opportunity to prove themselves without fear that 15-year-old competitors will come to replace them.

But the Olympic Games are ahead, and so far it is also unclear whether the Russians will be allowed there.

And people do live by it.

They work, shedding sweat and blood in training for the sake of the goal, but through no fault of their own, they can lose their dream.

It remains to be patient and hope for the best.

The current situation cannot last forever, ”concluded Butyrskaya.

But the well-known coach Irina Zhuk, who specializes in ice dancing, believes that it makes no sense to discuss this topic, since it is not yet clear whether the Russians will be allowed to the 2023 World Cup.

In her opinion, athletes should not pay attention to this.

“Of course, in our country there are a large number of strong couples and dance duets that risk not performing at the World Championships.

But let's say not only about them, but also about the same single skaters.

This is a blow to everyone: both skaters and coaches.

In this situation, I see only one way out - to continue to work and train.

It definitely does not make sense for athletes to fill their heads with such things and wag their nerves, especially long before the start of the tournament.

It is not clear what will happen tomorrow.

We must do our job, ”the specialist emphasized.