ISU publishes the list of AINs allowed to take part in the Olympic Qualification

[Mathman]

Kwan with Bush in 2006.

Bush was a big skating fan. Here he is at the 2002 Olympics. He wanted to sit in the stands with the U.S. delegation and, as luck would have it, there just happened to be a vacant seat right next to cutie-pie Sasha Cohen. I can't find the close-up of just the two of them anymore, but this one is still available You can buy it for $39, but I don't think that Sasha gets any of the money.

NO FILM, NO VIDEO, NO TV, NO DOCUMENTARY - © ABACA. 32258-1. Salt Lake City-UT-USA. 09/02/2002. President Bush poses with members of U.S. Olympic team during opening ceremonies for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics Stock Photo - Alamy

Download this stock image: NO FILM, NO VIDEO, NO TV, NO DOCUMENTARY - © ABACA. 32258-1. Salt Lake City-UT-USA. 09/02/2002. President Bush poses with members of U.S. Olympic team during opening ceremonies for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. - 2DDAMNH from Alamy's library of millions of...

www.alamy.com

It was reported at the time that when Bush made his departure he turned to Sasha and said, "Well. I've got tp fly back to Washington now. young lady. I've got a war to fight!"

I can only conjecture that Sasha probably replied something along the lines of, "Oh. OK. Nice to meet you. Bye."

 

[Arigato]

OK, I can beat that. When I was 5 I got suspicious that my mom wasn't telling the truth about Santa Claus. So my sister and I set a trap for her. When we put out the milk and cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve, we cleverly kept Santa's thank you note. Then we compared it to our mother's handwriting. Aha!

The point is to stop making excuses for a particular female skater who is capable of thinking for herself.

 

[TontoK]

It's not a heart drug of course the manufacturer attributes all kinds of benefits in the same way energy drink manufacturers attribute all kinds of benefits to syrupy carbonated water.

People take fish oil (do they do that anymore), apple cider vinegar, all kinds of things, vitamins which get flushed out when they pee, and attribute all kinds of benefits. Meldonium probably better than vitamins, but less beneficial than caffeine or L-Carnitine.

Putting Meldonium on the banned list relates to events of 2014 (or more precisely 2013), unfortunately innocent athletes were caught up in it and had their integrity questioned. Serena Williams defends Sharapova to this day.

No. If we're going to debate these things, at least we should do it honestly. The purpose of meldonium is to increase blood flow and oxygen delivery throughout the body. That's why doctors prescribe it to heart patients in places where it is approved. The fact that it might be purchased over the counter or online in some places is irrelevant. It's not the same as a vitamin or apple cider vinegar, and to toss that comparison into the debate is misleading.

And if, as you contend, it's really not even as effective as caffeine, then the athletes risking their careers to take it must be pretty damned stupid. They could just grab a coffee and be better off and not have to worry about the testers.

I share your sympathies with the athletes caught up when it first came to the banned list, but that was over a decade ago. That is irrelevant to a discussion of current sports doping.

 

[TallyT]

So true! I mean Russia will have 2 skaters in Italy - maybe - and this Is depicted as an exercise of great power and influence! Russia 2 skaters Olympic figure skating. That’s power?

Given their behaviour - fed and skaters - for the last two Olympics, having any at all is power privilege. And a bl**dy nuisance if the woman chosen goes for a threepeat public tantrum (which, given the pressure on her, is more than possible) or we get another drug scandal played out on satellite stream.

I honestly don't much care, have no horse in the race and there isn't a current singles' discipline skater either side that I really want to win, and none either side that I will be all that aggrieved if they do. Them's the breaks, better people have been hit with harder fates and if not going to/winning the Olympics is the worst thing that happens to anyone given everything going on worldwide, they are Lady Luck's own pets.

 

[gmyers]

Given their behaviour - fed and skaters - for the last two Olympics, having any at all is power privilege. And a bl**dy nuisance if the woman chosen goes for a threepeat public tantrum (which, given the pressure on her, is more than possible) or we get another drug scandal played out on satellite stream.

I honestly don't much care, have no horse in the race and there isn't a current singles' discipline skater either side that I really want to win, and none either side that I will be all that aggrieved if they do. Them's the breaks, better people have been hit with harder fates and if not going to/winning the Olympics is the worst thing that happens to anyone given everything going on worldwide, they are Lady Luck's own pets.

After 2011 Japan earthquake it took Russia a few days to organize a whole new worlds! Making and saving the isu millions and millions! Getting 2 skaters for that is terrible! And that’s just one thing

 

[TallyT]

After 2011 Japan earthquake it took Russia a few days to organize a whole new worlds! Making and saving the isu millions and millions! Getting 2 skaters for that is terrible! And that’s just one thing

Stop being specious, the two have nothing to do with each other and you are reaching (even in 2011 'millions' is a blatant taradiddle). I notice you didn't address the very very public disgraces I mentioned...

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Given their behaviour - fed and skaters - for the last two Olympics, having any at all is power privilege. And a bl**dy nuisance if the woman chosen goes for a threepeat public tantrum (which, given the pressure on her, is more than possible) or we get another drug scandal played out on satellite stream.

I honestly don't much care, have no horse in the race and there isn't a current singles' discipline skater either side that I really want to win, and none either side that I will be all that aggrieved if they do. Them's the breaks, better people have been hit with harder fates and if not going to/winning the Olympics is the worst thing that happens to anyone given everything going on worldwide, they are Lady Luck's own pets.

Agreed. The ISU is throwing them a bone by allowing any skaters at all. The war in Ukraine is still going on.

 

[Mathman]

taradiddle

This discussion was getting bogged down with the same points being repeateated over and over. But suddenly -- a new word!!!

I looked up the etymology. Webster's on-line dictionary says

"The true origin of taradiddle is unknown, but that doesn't mean you won't encounter a lot of balderdash about its history. Some folks try to connect it to the verb diddle (one meaning of which is "to swindle or cheat"), but that connection hasn't been proven and may turn out to be poppycock. You may even hear some tommyrot about this particular sense of diddle coming from the Old English verb didrian, which meant "to deceive," but that couldn't be true unless didrian was somehow suddenly revived after eight or nine centuries of disuse."

 

[TallyT]

This discussion was getting bogged down with the same points being repeateated over and over. But suddenly -- a new word!!!

I looked up the etymology. Webster's on-line dictionary says

"The true origin of taradiddle is unknown, but that doesn't mean you won't encounter a lot of balderdash about its history. Some folks try to connect it to the verb diddle (one meaning of which is "to swindle or cheat"), but that connection hasn't been proven and may turn out to be poppycock. You may even hear some tommyrot about this particular sense of diddle coming from the Old English verb didrian, which meant "to deceive," but that couldn't be true unless didrian was somehow suddenly revived after eight or nine centuries of disuse."

I admit, I use balderdash, poppycock and tommyrot too (as well as some really less polite synonyms)

 

[AlexBreeze]

So why have M/G not been given neutral status? I wonder if its because they shared pictures of the meeting with Putin? I wonder if we will ever find out. I was rooting for them to get to the Olympics.

We can only guess. But yes, they didn't directly violate anything described in that Communication.

 

[gmyers]

Stop being specious, the two have nothing to do with each other and you are reaching (even in 2011 'millions' is a blatant taradiddle). I notice you didn't address the very very public disgraces I mentioned...

it seemed strange to want Russia banned because trusova cried! Being that figure skating has a kiss and cry official section. That crying and having tantrums is built in tot the sport on an official level

 

[TallyT]

it seemed strange to want Russia banned because trusova cried! Being that figure skating has a kiss and cry official section. That crying and having tantrums is built in tot the sport on an official level

I never said I wanted Russia banned for that. They were banned for their culture of ongoing cheating and for being seen to support the invasion of a sovereign nation during the Olympic truce.

I said "Given their behaviour - fed and skaters - for the last two Olympics, having any at all is power privilege" and that it - the privilege - was a 'repeat the expletive' nuisance given tantrums and the livestreamed scandal.

Please quote me correctly.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

I'd like to see Adelia win. She's proven to the be the clear best in the world over the past two seasons. In 2022/23 she had an injury that she was coming back from at the Russian championships so didn't give her best, but was back on form in the GP final and won easily. In effect the clear best in the world for THREE seasons.

To win Olympic gold would cap an incredible career where she has been undefeated for two years in the toughest competition in the world.

It's too bad that there will be an asterisk hanging over the pairs event (imo just my opinion is all).

Don't worry about the pairs event. The powers-that-be have apparently sent a message about who they prefer to see on the Olympic podium. Anyway they can, it looks like TPTB want the Japanese team M/K on top, and Conti/Macii as home team are favored to be on the podium in Milan. I really hope the Germans (i.e. German Hase, and Russian Volodin) will skate beautifully and win that Gold medal!!! Regarding Russian teams, I am more partial to Boikova/Koslovskii and I would not have minded seeing them compete, but Rusfed risked it and selected Mish/Gal, when Galliamov's political support for Putin's regime was known, and possibly evidence was available. Mish/Gal are at least lucky that they have an Olympic bronze medal and a World championship. B/K are not as lucky. But if, as you say Russia has the 'toughest competitions in the world,' B/K and M/G should surely be happy competing in those toughest competitions in the world for the remainder of their careers.

In any case, there are Russian skaters and coaches everywhere in the sport of fs. Russian-born or Russian ancestry, Russians have never stopped having an influence on the sport. That some people want the Russians who still rep Rusfed to compete. Oh well. It is what it is. While, of course, athletes do not all deserve to be punished, they did benefit from years of the ISU simply slapping Rusfed on the hand for egregious rule violations. Had Rusfed not been so arrogant and defiant in thinking they could get away with sending Valieva to the last Olympics, some in the skating community might have more sympathy regarding the ban Russian athletes face because of Putin's ongoing aggression against Ukraine.

The scandal at the last Olympics should never have occurred. Even allowing a couple of so-called neutral Russian and Belarussian athletes the chance to compete at the 2026 Olympics is like allowing Rusfed an opportunity to return to the scene of the crime. I hope doping safeguards are strongly in place for all athletes!

BTW, Petrosian seems to be a nice spinner. Does she have more than one quad along with her 3-axel? While she has very quick rotations, I don't like her leg position in the air. She's still young, thus she exhibits no depth of ability to express the music. Her arm carriage is so-so, not the best. Her aesthetics lag behind quite a number of skaters we saw at 2025 Worlds. She's very pretty with dark good looks. Clearly, she's still developing like a number of young up-and-comers in the ladies field. She may grab points for the quad rotations and 3-axel, if she doesn't pop, but her form and technique are not great. Chiba, Kaori, Wakaba, Amber, Alysa, et al., are much more well-rounded skaters than Petrosian. The over-rewarded Russian baby ballerinas truly turned me away from watching women's events. Multiple rotations are not everything, not even in the men's event.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtu.be

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Tatiana Tarasova's over-dramatic ranting about this decision is worthy of a Razzy Award.

 

[yume]

Not sure what you mean. Besides the singles, Belarus has one ice dance couple being allowed. Though, their national champions weren't. It's sad because they are a strong couple and had a slight chance to make the cut in Beijing.

Seems like Belarus played it safe by not submitting the national champs. Because if they were the first pick, the other team wouldn't have been allowed. A shame Rusfed didn't do the same thing (especially for pairs since there are some good pairs that i would have liked to see). Unless they were sure that the pair and ice dance couple would pass. It would be interesting to have the details of the decision.

Since the atheletes are required to continue to comply with the eligibility
criteria, does that mean, if the social media stalking gives anything, that a skater can be removed even after the olympic qualifying event or even 2 days before olys?

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Boykova/Kozlovskiy probably didn't pass the scrutiny thanks to the same show that had also potentially tanked Semenenko's chances vs Dikidzhi.

According to ISU directives regarding this selection and review process, Rusfed only had one opportunity to select one skater/ team in each discipline. The substitutes whose names were also submitted, were substitutes in the event of the main athletes sustaining injury at any point after being approved to compete for an Olympic spot in Beijing.

None of the substitutes were to be considered secondary choices if the first athletes submitted were not approved as neutral athletes. Rusfed knew they only had one opportunity in each discipline for their first submissions to be approved. This was clearly outlined, and it was discussed on skating forums, too. It's not new information.

Thus, with Rusfed's first selection for pairs being denied, the second choice was never considered and likely never scrutinized because there was no need to do so once the first submission had been deemed unacceptable. Seemingly, only if M/G were approved as neutral athletes would B/K have been reviewed for their suitability as substitutes in the event of physical injury or illness to M/G.

 

[AlexBreeze]

Seems like Belarus played it safe by not submitting the national champs. Because if they were the first pick, the other team wouldn't have been allowed.

The difference is that Andreeva/Blinov were almost guaranteed to be rejected because Blinov obtained the citizenship later then required.

A shame Rusfed didn't do the same thing (especially for pairs since there are some good pairs that i would have liked to see).

I might agree about ice dance but not about pairs. As I said, M/G didn't violate anything directly. How the Fed was supposed to choose in this case? Especially considering other medalists of nationals had less chances.

Since the atheletes are required to continue to comply with the eligibility
criteria, does that mean, if the social media stalking gives anything, that a skater can be removed even after the olympic qualifying event or even 2 days before olys?

Yes, they left an email to send any concerns.

They also must be checked by IOC and get permission from them too.

 

[yume]

The difference is that Andreeva/Blinov were almost guaranteed to be rejected because Blinov obtained the citizenship later then required.

I see. It wasn't a strategy then.

I might agree about ice dance but not about pairs. As I said, M/G didn't violate anything directly. How the Fed was supposed to choose in this case? Especially considering other medalists of nationals had less chances.

Hence why i wonder why they weren't allowed. I guess we won't know the exact reason.
I understand why B/K maybe had less chances but why Khabibullina/Knyazhuk?

Yes, they left an email to send any concerns.

They also must be checked by IOC and get permission from them too.

Yikes.

 

[AlexBreeze]

but why Khabibullina/Knyazhuk?

Knyazhuk was in CSKA in 2022/23.

 

[lariko]

It's not a heart drug of course the manufacturer attributes all kinds of benefits in the same way energy drink manufacturers attribute all kinds of benefits to syrupy carbonated water.

People take fish oil (do they do that anymore), apple cider vinegar, all kinds of things, vitamins which get flushed out when they pee, and attribute all kinds of benefits. Meldonium probably better than vitamins, but less beneficial than caffeine or L-Carnitine.

Putting Meldonium on the banned list relates to events of 2014 (or more precisely 2013), unfortunately innocent athletes were caught up in it and had their integrity questioned. Serena Williams defends Sharapova to this day.

Like... why would you take a drug/supplement if it is not beneficial? Your position makes zero sense. Russians were caught using it way after it was official and clearly banned.