Russian Skaters Allowed to Compete as Neutrals (AIN) to Qualify for 2026 Winter Olympics

[caseyedwards]

You still make no sense, this thread is titled Russian athletes allowed to compete and I’m like why should they compete after what I’m still seeing and what’s happening in the news and to these poor people. What are you supposed to discuss in this thread the protein intake for 16 year old Eastern European skaters who have been MIA for two seasons?

I never talk about politics or barely going to any politics thread, we can agree to disagree on this one. It just makes zero sense, and the fact that you wanna make such a big deal about it. Like that was all you had on your agenda for a Saturday in July.

It’s like me saying why are you coming into the Amber Glenn Realness thread when you should go into the Amber Glenn appreciation thread. Crickets.

And what do Petr gumennik and Adelia Petrosian have to do with Ukraine or war or Putin or anything

 

[MacMadame]

Bottom line there would be no way to distinguish a cold reaction to a Russian skater vs a non reaction to a skater no one had ever heard of in their life!!

Figure skating fans always react warmly to good performances no matter who does them and are generally warm to the unknown skaters as well.

^ my point is they should not be able to compete at all. No matter what title you put on their participation. Anyways, this was never something I intended to be such a big deal.

But this thread is 6+ months old and we're now on page 20. We've had this discussion multiple times. Why bring it up again when there isn't anything new to bring to the discussion?

 

[DreamSkates]

My man, I opened the link hoping it'd contain, IDK, news related to sports or figure skating. What's this news link about Russia-Ukraine war - purely about that and nothing else - doing here and not PI? Did this latest bit of news affect something with regards to Russia's participation in the Olympics?

The Russian invasion of another country is very relevant to the spirit of the Olympic games, as in, they shouldn't participate because their leader has caused the deaths of thousands of people.

 

[On My Own]

The Russian invasion of another country is very relevant to the spirit of the Olympic games, as in, they shouldn't participate because their leader has caused the deaths of thousands of people.

If we believe FSU is the arbiter of Olympic-level participation, sure?

 

[DreamSkates]

If we believe FSU is the arbiter of Olympic-level participation, sure?

According to what the Olympic committees have stated that the Olympics is about? FSU doesn't decide that.

 

[DreamSkates]

If we believe FSU is the arbiter of Olympic-level participation, sure?

https://www.olympics.com/ioc/olympic-values

 

[On My Own]

According to what the Olympic committees have stated that the Olympics is about? FSU doesn't decide that.

https://www.olympics.com/ioc/olympic-values

Did the IOC/ISU (whichever: too sleepy)... not follow its own values when it reinstated the ability for Russian athletes who have been approved by its own committees to go participate?

Are those values perhaps 'let's stuff our pockets with money', which is followed at every time?

What exact change has happened that this is being discussed in this thread is beyond me.

 

[jägerbomb]

A morally corrupt sleazefest

also known as my typical Saturday night.

 

[Karen-W]

Gleikhengauz was denied permission to be part of the support personnel team for Petrosian at the OQE this week.

Глейхенгауза не допустили к отбору на Олимпиаду для сопровождения Петросян

Тренер-хореограф группы Этери Тутберидзе Даниил Глейхенгауз сообщил РИА Новости, что его не допустили до отборочного турнира фигуристов на Олимпийские игры 2026 РИА Новости Спорт, 15.09.2025

rsport.ria.ru

Presumably this means he also has been denied permission to attend the Olympics as part of the support personnel team should she earn a spot this weekend.

 

[caseyedwards]

Did they ban texting? If they didn’t ban texting maybe it’s just totally unnecessary for anyone to be there with her. She’s 18 anyway.

 

[skatfan]

Gleikhengauz was denied permission to be part of the support personnel team for Petrosian at the OQE this week.

Глейхенгауза не допустили к отбору на Олимпиаду для сопровождения Петросян

Тренер-хореограф группы Этери Тутберидзе Даниил Глейхенгауз сообщил РИА Новости, что его не допустили до отборочного турнира фигуристов на Олимпийские игры 2026 РИА Новости Спорт, 15.09.2025

rsport.ria.ru

Presumably this means he also has been denied permission to attend the Olympics as part of the support personnel team should she earn a spot this weekend.

I find this surprising since Eteri has been at the boards at a number of ISU events, including Worlds. I guess the IOC screened pretty carefully.

 

[fan]

I find this surprising since Eteri has been at the boards at a number of ISU events, including Worlds. I guess the IOC screened pretty carefully.

I’m assuming Eteri has another passport so they can’t stop her. Does Danny G?

 

[Amy L]

I’m assuming Eteri has another passport so they can’t stop her. Does Danny G?

I also assume so. Diana should have a Georgia passport by now and Eteri is a generation closer to her Georgian heritage than her daughter.

 

[Stephanie]

It’s not a passport issue. It’s extra screening and the right to deny AIN athletes and personnel.

 

[TAHbKA]

Guess Petrosian is lucky Gubanova will be there as well, so at the very least she'll have Daineko and Rukavitsin looking after her. But in my books weird they named Gleikhengause and not Tutberidze.

 

[caseyedwards]

Guess Petrosian is lucky Gubanova will be there as well, so at the very least she'll have Daineko and Rukavitsin looking after her. But in my books weird they named Gleikhengause and not Tutberidze.

The isu guidelines for ain and support personnel clearly indicate there can be no communication other than between skater and their support personnel. Gubanova people can’t have anything to do with Petrosian.

Isu 2680. It’s linked many times. If she talks to them she loses ain.

 

[MacMadame]

The isu guidelines for ain and support personnel clearly indicate there can be no communication other than between skater and their support personnel. Gubanova people can’t have anything to do with Petrosian.

Isu 2680. It’s linked many times. If she talks to them she loses ain.

So every skater who says Hi while passing in the hall to someone outside their team is banned? I guess they can't take the skater shuttle (if there is one) either.

I assume someone else can't sit in the Kiss n Cry with them or coach from the boards, but other than that no one is going to care who talks to whom.

 

[caseyedwards]

So every skater who says Hi while passing in the hall to someone outside their team is banned? I guess they can't take the skater shuttle (if there is one) either.

I assume someone else can't sit in the Kiss n Cry with them or coach from the boards, but other than that no one is going to care who talks to whom.

You are acting like it’s absurd but it’s all written down in isu 2680. Yes all ain are banned from talking to anyone, being in mixed zones, everything other than competing. The isu does care. They have banned hi. The isu strongly and overwhelmingly opposes any Russian participation on any level.

 

[MacMadame]

Lots of things are written down. Which you well know.

 

[TAHbKA]

Daineko is Gumennik's coach. She is a Russian.

 

[farahfan]

So just to make sure I'm understanding this...we're supposing Eteri will accompany Adeliia to China as her coach, there's nothing preventing that at the moment?

 

[Karen-W]

It’s not a passport issue. It’s extra screening and the right to deny AIN athletes and personnel.

Definitely not a passport issue - Russians have no problems traveling to & from China. This is most certainly related to the AIN screening and he makes this clear in the quote in the article linked.

 

[TAHbKA]

So just to make sure I'm understanding this...we're supposing Eteri will accompany Adeliia to China as her coach, there's nothing preventing that at the moment?

If I understood correctly - no, Petrosian will go alone. I think they had to submit one name and that was Gleikhengauze. They can't change it. At least the Russian media insinuates Petrosian is to go alone

 

[4rkidz]

Guess Petrosian is lucky Gubanova will be there as well, so at the very least she'll have Daineko and Rukavitsin looking after her. But in my books weird they named Gleikhengause and not Tutberidze.

I find that really confusing? There must be more to it?

 

[Amy L]

I find that really confusing? There must be more to it?

I think it's because AIN could only nominate one skater and one coach with no substitutions allowed.

 

[Evgeniafan]

Adelia's father is Armenian. Can he go, if he has a ticket? Can she talk to him?

 

[TAHbKA]

Adelia's father is Armenian. Can he go, if he has a ticket? Can she talk to him?

It's not a closed competition, is it? I.e. anyone can just get a flight ticket/entrance ticket and go if they choose to.
And think China just cancelled the visas for Russians, so they can just get a flight ticket and go

 

[caseyedwards]

and they can wave a nice isu flag from the stands