“In the Loop” is a column by Valerie Fang dedicated to the sport of figure skating.
Welcome back to In the Loop! Hope you had a restorative break and an excelsior start of 2024. I have missed writing about figure skating. This time, I thought we could do something different to kick off a new semester of coverage.
Last December, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) officially announced their approval of Individual Neutral Athletes’ eligibility for Paris 2024. Shortly after, I received a reader’s email inquiring about the status of Russia and Belarus’ participation in international figure skating competitions in 2024, namely this spring’s World Championships. Having the reader’s permission, below is our correspondence in which I share my answer and some other thoughts on what the IOC’s new move means for Russia and Belarus.
Q: Has there been any further clarity regarding the controversial measure of Russian skaters and their coaches participating in events in 2024? Relying on your expertise and journalistic experience, do you believe these measures will be in place for the next skating worlds in March?
A: I assumed that the news about the IOC officially approving Russian and Belarusian athletes competing in Paris 2024 was what prompted your inquiry. Although the IOC has issued this formal approval, it’s still up to the international federations to green-light individual athletes. I have been on the lookout for any communications from the International Skating Union on this matter, and it seems like they have not put out a response yet. Considering Russia’s long dominance in the sport, I think the ISU will allow Russian and Belarusian skaters to come back, but most likely after this season and the Valieva (RUS) doping case is concluded. Allowing Russia to return to figure skating will allow Valieva to compete internationally again when CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) still hasn’t decided on a verdict yet. Besides, it will be a lot for the ISU if they take on two separate controversies at once.
It would be too late for Russian and Belarusian skaters to compete at Worlds in 2024. For a member country to qualify for Worlds, the skaters must obtain minimum technical scores at an international competition during the previous or ongoing season. I remember the cut-off date for skaters to do so is around three weeks before the first day of Worlds. So, unless the ISU comes up with some special pathways for them to be eligible, I don’t see a way for Russia or Belarus to compete there.
As for the coaches, I think the only language that potentially affects them is “support personnel who actively support the war will not be entered” and “support personnel who are contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies will not be entered.” But, how do they define “actively” and the scope of “support”? Does hosting a pro-war in Ukraine ice show count as “actively support[ing] the war”? Does receiving Russia’s highest honor for a civilian insinuate Tutberidze’s support for her country’s stance on foreign policy? It all sounds very vague to me and will likely come down to only rhetoric. As you might know, Eteri Tutberidze was already spotted at Worlds earlier this year accompanying her student Daniel Grassl (ITA), sparking quite a bit of controversy. She and her team were treated just like all other coaches. However, the official approval bans Russian and Belarusian athletes from doing interviews. It’ll decrease their overall media coverage, especially in figure skating, and I hope it can be applied to their coaches and entourage as well.
In summary, I don’t like how the headline of this official Olympic article says “strict eligibility conditions in place,” because it’s not true. The IOC is simply letting everything go back to the way it was. Russia (and Belarus) just gotta compete “neutrally,” again. They are already used to it and have found a way to use Individual Neutral Athletes’ accomplishments to instill national pride back home.
“In the Loop” runs every other Friday.