2026 Milano-Cortina Olympics - Figure Skating Qualification

[Debbie S]

I am waiting to see if Israel plans to change their men’s entry.
This weekend at Skate Detroit, the Senior men event was all Israel: Mark, Tamir, and Lev. Mark won convincingly by nearly 25 points and is showing some consistency with his 4S. I would not be surprised to see them switch to Mark.

It's a dilemma. Mark had a good FS but in the SP, he fell on the 4S and doubled the axel. Tamir has higher value elements but he's very inconsistent plus is prone to losing points on spins. Mark does have a PCS advantage, though...that could be worth a lot among the other contenders in Beijing.

 

[kwanfan1818]

The SP less of a dilemma at a competition where every skater qualifies for the free. The skater with the stronger PCS has a much better chance of rising with the FS if they have issues in the SP and an early start in the FS.

 

[Flip Jump]

It's a dilemma. Mark had a good FS but in the SP, he fell on the 4S and doubled the axel. Tamir has higher value elements but he's very inconsistent plus is prone to losing points on spins. Mark does have a PCS advantage, though...that could be worth a lot among the other contenders in Beijing.

I saw the SP and FS in person. First time seeing any of the 3 live. Mark’s skating skills are above and beyond the others in my opinion. I also trust him most to come back the strongest from SP struggles.

 

[text_skate]

I'd love the Swedish dance team to make it, but I'm not going to hold my breath. Majorov for Milan!

I will hold all my fingers crossed. I love that team.
Question is: Will the Swedish fed send them, if they earn a spot?

 

[Kiki5375]

I will hold all my fingers crossed. I love that team.
Question is: Will the Swedish fed send them, if they earn a spot?

Are they the ones who practice in Oberstdorf Germany? If so I saw them in August and they were really good. They had the Sweedish team shirts but I wasn't sure about their names... they look different on tv

 

[skateblessing]

Are they the ones who practice in Oberstdorf Germany? If so I saw them in August and they were really good. They had the Sweedish team shirts but I wasn't sure about their names... they look different on tv

Correct. They mostly train there. But they do go back and forth between Sweden and Oberstdorf because they officially live in Sweden because Milla is working on the citizenship. I don`t think any other of the Swedish ID teams trains in Oberstdorf. If you heard Ricky Martin and Romeo and Juliet you can be pretty sure it was them

They just showed their program at Swedish team camp this weekend and I saw some clips. They look to be in great shape already and the FD is just stunning. I wasn`t super excited when I saw their music choice at first but as always - they make it interesting. Just saw the ending of their RD and it`s very upbeat. They are probably doing something similar like last years RD - they exploit their speed and energy through the whole program. And then we will see their elegance, soft lines and story telling in the FD. From what I saw, they added some more difficulty. Mostly lifts look the same, but they added different entrance/exit. Particular the one combination lift looked amazing.

 

[Kiki5375]

Correct. They mostly train there. But they do go back and forth between Sweden and Oberstdorf because they officially live in Sweden because Milla is working on the citizenship. I don`t think any other of the Swedish ID teams trains in Oberstdorf. If you heard Ricky Martin and Romeo and Juliet you can be pretty sure it was them

They just showed their program at Swedish team camp this weekend and I saw some clips. They look to be in great shape already and the FD is just stunning. I wasn`t super excited when I saw their music choice at first but as always - they make it interesting. Just saw the ending of their RD and it`s very upbeat. They are probably doing something similar like last years RD - they exploit their speed and energy through the whole program. And then we will see their elegance, soft lines and story telling in the FD. From what I saw, they added some more difficulty. Mostly lifts look the same, but they added different entrance/exit. Particular the one combination lift looked amazing.

Yes Ricky Martin. They practiced only in parts. I didn't see the whole thing but it looked very good

 

[sus2850]

Today the German federation nominated Gartung for Peking officially. The press release says he has no German passport. So if he manages to obtain a spot for Germany, it will go to Starostin, I assume.

DEU nominiert Genrikh Gartung für Olympia-Qualifikation in Peking

Die Deutsche Eislauf-Union e.V. ist nationaler Spitzenverband für Eiskunstlaufen, Eistanz und Synchroneiskunstlaufen und einer von nur 7 olympischen Wintersportverbänden.

www.eislauf-union.de

 

[Kiki5375]

This passport switching in skating is insane. But as far as I heard Gartung has German ancestors so it might not be that difficult to get German citizenship in time for Olympics

 

[zigzig]

This passport switching in skating is insane. But as far as I heard Gartung has German ancestors so it might not be that difficult to get German citizenship in time for Olympics

Here's hoping GG can get some kind of expedited situation. The thought of watching NS and his tiny jumps and whatever horrible program Solya has come up with for him is gonna put me in my grave.

 

[Kiki5375]

Here's hoping GG can get some kind of expedited situation. The thought of watching NS and his tiny jumps and whatever horrible program Solya has come up with for him is gonna put me in my grave.

I like them both. But sending Genrikh to qualify for the Olympic spot and then giving it to Nikita would be kind of unfair

 

[SkateFanBerlin]

My German lawyer husband says not having a German Passport should not be a problem for a German citizen. It`s a quick process. He`s probably "living" with his EU identity card which the locals carry when traveling around Europe.

 

[Kiki5375]

My German lawyer husband says not having a German Passport should not be a problem for a German citizen. It`s a quick process. He`s probably "living" with his EU identity card which the locals carry when traveling around Europe.

I think the problem is that he is not yet a German citizen

 

[SkateFanBerlin]

I think the problem is that he is not yet a

Just read the article. I see he`s Russian. My hubby says the German government will consider cases whose lineage is quite old. Many Germans for economic reasons settled in what is now Russia.

 

[sus2850]

There is the language test though. And he has to apply for citizenship in the first place. Apparently he has not done that yet, otherwise I am sure the wording would have been different in the press release.

 

[Kiki5375]

There is the language test though. And he has to apply for citizenship in the first place. Apparently he has not done that yet, otherwise I am sure the wording would have been different in the press release.

I am German. Many people with German roots came from Russia and Poland in the 90ies. They speak German they just don't have the citizenship. Most of them got it pretty easy

 

[sus2850]

I am German too. Starostin for example did not really speak German, neither did Volodin, they had to work hard for that test. Judging from his name - Genrikh Gartung instead of Heinrich Hartung- I assume that his family might not have lived in Germany for that long. He is born in Russia as well.
But I can be wrong of course, the last name is German sounding and I have not yet interviewed him….

 

[SkateFanBerlin]

Anyway, I hope we don`t have to send Starostin. He`s been so unreliable and doesn`t have anything like what Gartung has.