The 2018 Olympic season was a roller coaster for Russian ice dancers Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin. The Muscovites started well into the season, establishing themselves as the number two team behind fellow countrymen and multiple national champions Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev. They took their second bronze medal at the 2018 ISU European Figure Skating Championships on home ice in Moscow and were selected for the Olympic team.
Then, just after Europeans, the ice dancers were told that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) did not “invite” Bukin to PyeongChang. Following the doping scandals around Russian sports, the IOC had banned the Russian Olympic Committee from the Games in South Korea, but invited athletes individually and they competed as “Olympic Athletes from Russia.”
As if this wasn’t bad enough, what made it worse was that the skaters were never given an explanation.
“Just so you know, they (anti-doping control officers) came eight times to me in the last three months before the Olympics,” said 24-year-old Bukin. “All tests were negative and they just didn’t let me go (to the Olympic Games). For what reason? Give at least an explanation. But it was just like, ‘Your’re not invited. That’s it.’ There was no way to argue.”
More...
Kudos to this team for staying positive throughout this devastating mess. :curse:Here's hoping they have a great 2018-19 season!:2thumbs:
Then, just after Europeans, the ice dancers were told that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) did not “invite” Bukin to PyeongChang. Following the doping scandals around Russian sports, the IOC had banned the Russian Olympic Committee from the Games in South Korea, but invited athletes individually and they competed as “Olympic Athletes from Russia.”
As if this wasn’t bad enough, what made it worse was that the skaters were never given an explanation.
“Just so you know, they (anti-doping control officers) came eight times to me in the last three months before the Olympics,” said 24-year-old Bukin. “All tests were negative and they just didn’t let me go (to the Olympic Games). For what reason? Give at least an explanation. But it was just like, ‘Your’re not invited. That’s it.’ There was no way to argue.”
More...
Kudos to this team for staying positive throughout this devastating mess. :curse:Here's hoping they have a great 2018-19 season!:2thumbs: