A simple break before resuming? Unlike the vast majority of Summer Olympic sports, skating continues to leave Russian and Belarusian athletes at the door of its competitions.
Its international body, the ISU, announced on Sunday June 11 in a fairly laconic press release the decision of its council to maintain the suspension of skaters from the two countries, decided at the beginning of March 2022, after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine .
The ISU decision was expected. But, given the current trend within the Olympic movement, it looked rather the opposite. In recent weeks, almost all international federations have followed, one after the other, the recommendations of the IOC Executive Board to reinstate Russian and Belarusian athletes.
World Rowing, the rowing body, was the latest to join the movement. Earlier in June, the International Badminton Federation (BWF) also sided with the camp opened by the IOC, after having initially decided to maintain the suspension of Russian and Belarusian players.
The ISU explains this in its press release: the members of its council, meeting over the weekend in Budapest, examined in detail the recommendations of the IOC Executive Board. They decided " explore feasibility issues regarding potential pathways for implementation » of these recommendations in the skating disciplines. Clearly, they are not completely turning their back on a possible return of Russian and Belarusian athletes. But in the meantime, skaters from both countries remain suspended.
Its press release suggests it without nuance: the ISU has chosen the Ukrainian camp. “ The International Skating Union (ISU) has supported the skating federations of Ukraine since the beginning of the war, implementing ISU Communication 2469 and also providing financial support to help Ukrainian skaters, insists the text. The ISU reiterates its sympathy and solidarity with all those affected by the war in Ukraine. She maintains her condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in the strongest possible terms"
In Moscow, the ISU decision was commented on without restraint by several big names in figure skating. At the top of the list, Tatiana Navka, the Olympic ice dancing champion at the 2006 Turin Games, a loyal supporter of Vladimir Putin's regime since her marriage to Dmitry Peskov, the Russian president's press secretary.
« Stupidity and injustice, she told the site sports-express. Once again, the ISU shows that people use sport to achieve some of their goals. We hoped that reason would prevail. But apparently that's not the case"
Same indignation among coach Tatyana Tarasova. “ The decision is unfair, she said. How will we be able to return to the international scene? We should have people who protect us, but they don't"
Ilya Averbukh, the silver medalist in ice dancing at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, admits to being especially worried about the next generation of Russian skating. “ I had no illusions about the ISU decision regarding seniors, he explained to sports-express. But for the juniors, we secretly hoped. They need international competitions. I am very disappointed with this decision. I consider it illegal and harmful for the development of world figure skating! This is a short-sighted decision. The level of skating will gradually stagnate"
Clearly, the ISU did not let purely financial considerations weigh on its decision. According to a report published on its official website, the suspension of Russian athletes has already cost it dearly. Their absence from international competitions since the end of the Beijing 2022 Winter Games is expected to result in losses this year estimated at 1 million Swiss francs. The reason is the lack of advertising revenue and television rights from Russia.
