BOSTON (AP) — It's hard to imagine a better world championships for the American figure skating team, which captured gold in three of the four disciplines over the weekend for the first time in its history, and will take all of that momentum into an Olympic year.
But there is an old rival potentially returning to the mix that wasn't at worlds: the Russians.
The country that has dominated Olympic figure skating over the past three-plus decades has been banned from competing in any international events since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Its best skaters have been forced to defect to other countries or, for those unwilling to do so, compete in a series of domestic events far outside of the global spotlight.
But late last year, the International Skating Union announced that it had developed a strict procedure whereby a small number of Russian athletes could qualify for the Milano-Cortina Games in February. The plan created at the recommendation of the International Olympic Committee involves Russia nominating a single athlete or pair in each of the disciplines to compete in a qualifying event in Beijing later this year, provided they go through a rigorous background check.
The athletes would compete as neutral athletes, much like a small number did at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and only if they have no ties to the Russian or Belarusian military and have not publicly supported the invasion of Ukraine.
“The ISU has maintained its condemnation of the invasion of Ukraine,” the organization said in a statement.
The plan was greeted by athletes at the world championships this week with a mixture of confusion and disappointment, support and rejection. But most athletes that discussed the situation with The Associated Press said they simply didn't care.
They have competed against Russians in every other Olympics. They would be fine with doing it again.
“It's something we've grown accustomed to being in my four Olympics, and hopefully heading to a fifth,” said Evan Bates, who along with his partner, Madison Chock, won their third consecutive ice dance championship on Saturday night.
The last couple to accomplish that feat? Russians Oksana Grischuk and Evgeni Platov, who won four in a row from 1994-97.
“It's something completely out of our control. We can never control who is going to be let in, and what the political ramifications are,” Bates continued. “It's outside our control, and the more we focus on it, it distracts from where our focus needs to be.”
This isn't the first time that Chock and Bates have been through some uncertainty when it comes to the Russian team.
They were part of the American squad that initially earned a silver medal at the 2022 Beijing Games. But when Russian star Kamila Valieva was disqualified for a doping violation after a protracted investigation, the U.S. was elevated to gold, and Chock and Bates finally received their medals alongside their teammates at the Paris Games last summer.
Along with its gold medal Saturday night, the U.S. also stood atop the worlds podium with Alysa Liu, who broke a nearly two-decade drought for American women, and in the men's competition with Ilia Malinin, who won a second straight title by more than 30 points to stamp himself as the overwhelming favorite for the Winter Games.
Asked whether she thought the Russians should be at worlds, Liu replied simply: “I don't know. Do you?”
It's difficult to predict which Russians will attempt to qualify for Milano-Cortina — the ISU received a list of candidates to vet by its Feb. 28 deadline — but whoever clears the threshold likely will contend in two events in particular: women and pairs.
Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova gave Russia gold and silver for the second consecutive Winter Games in Beijing, and a Russian has stood atop the podium in the women's event for the past three Olympics. And in pairs, Russians have taken gold in five of the past eight Olympics, and its skaters took silver and bronze at the Beijing Games.
The U.S. has not had a women's Olympic champion since Sarah Hughes in 2002. It has never won in pairs.
Last month, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia would try to ensure the participation of its athletes at the Winter Games, according to Russian news agency Tass. The statement came before the election of Kirsty Coventry as the new IOC president, and with her arrival came new hope for Russia that it could be allowed back into the Olympics.
Already, it appears Russian President Vladimir Putin is attempting to make inroads, offering the former swimmer his “sincere congratulations” on her win. Putin said in a statement issued by the Kremlin, “The results of the vote convincingly attest to your high authority in the sporting world and the recognition of your outstanding personal achievements.”
“We will defend the interests of our athletes and our Olympic team,” said Peskov, when asked recently about Russia's potential involvement in the Milano-Cortina Games. “Settling this issue will require additional time and effort.”
That time and effort is for others to expend, though. For skaters, the focus is on preparing themselves for an Olympic year.
“Our Olympic experiences, there’s been Russians at every Olympics so far, and looking to the next, should they be there, that will make the Olympic Games feel like there’s no caveat,” Bates said. “And if we can execute our plan and fulfill the goals we set for ourselves and stand atop the podium, we won’t worry about the rest of the field. We’ll just focus on the skating and the training and the preparation and enjoying what could be our last Olympic experience.”
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