The 2026 Winter Olympics will be held from February 6 to 22 in Italy. Qualification for the quadrennial’s main competition is ongoing, and some Russian athletes have already earned or are close to qualifying.

In 2022, international sports federations one after another announced the suspension of active Russian athletes from international competitions. Undoubtedly, this dealt a serious blow both to the development of sports in Russia and to the country’s international prestige. Participation in international tournaments is a key motivation for the growth of every professional athlete. One of the consequences of these decisions was the transition of a number of Russian athletes to the national teams of other countries. Many of them now regularly compete in world events and ascend the podium, which makes one wonder: what heights could they have reached under our flag, if not for these restrictions.

In March 2023, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended allowing the participation of Russians in a neutral status, provided they pass a series of checks. Then, in 2024, the IOC announced the admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes on an individual basis, contingent upon meeting a set of criteria. Consequently, 2025 marked a true resurgence for Russian sports: attendance at sporting arenas was striking in its numbers. For example, the 2026 Russian Figure Skating Championships will span four days at the Yubileyny Sports Palace in St. Petersburg. Tickets for all days have been sold out for a long time; the arena’s capacity exceeds 7,000 people, with many spectators traveling from other cities. This is also because it will be the final competitive start for Petr Gumennik and Adelia Petrosyan ahead of the 2026 Olympics. In September 2025, both athletes won the qualifying tournament in Beijing, securing personal quotas for the Olympic Games in Milan.

Adelia Petrosyan – Russian figure skater

A big victory for Russian juniors

A truly significant victory can be considered the........

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