Kibalko believes that after the withdrawal of Russian skaters, athletes who had not yet applied for anything had the chance to get closer to the podium

Member of the Council of the International Skating Union (ISU) Alexander Kibalko on the air of the program “There is a theme!” on “” he spoke about the congress of the organization held in Thailand, as well as how the withdrawal of Russian athletes affects figure skating.

The head of the ISU technical committee, member of the executive committee of the Russian Skating Union, Alexander Kibalko, received a seat on the ISU council following a congress vote.

“It was a very interesting and tense congress,” Kibalko said on . – It all started the day before the start of the Congress, on June 5, when the ISU Council in its old composition made a very important decision for all of us that it does not recommend withdrawing and not allowing representatives of Russia and Belarus to vote or work in Congress. That the consequences can be very serious, since there is no legal basis to prevent us from doing so. As a result, the entire congress could simply become illegitimate if the representatives of Russia and Belarus file a claim with the CAS.

It all started with this, on the morning of the 6th of Monday, when the representative of Ukraine got up and submitted a ready-made document, which said that Russians and Belarusians were not admitted to the elections, to vote, and were not allowed to work in Congress. Two-thirds forgave this Ukrainian proposal.

– Did this Ukrainian representative communicate with you in any way, did he say hello to you? Or was he seated separately? And how have other members of Congress interacted with you?

– There is the “ISU family”, everyone communicates, everything is built on very good, warm and friendly relations. Because we move like a big circus from one competition to another. All disciplines – skating, figure skating and short track – have coexisted for a long time. The banquet the day before showed that we are a family, everyone communicates. The representative of Ukraine walked around, everyone greeted each other, made friends. I don’t know him personally. Lives and works as a coach in Poland. It was a bit of a shame for him. He was instructed to say his “no” to Russia and Belarus. It was even somewhat denied by the whole team, that we went to communicate with all countries, including those who oppose us. There was a normal working environment at the convention.

Since March 1, seven different documents have been released which complement and clarify that Russian athletes, team representatives, referees and even elected positions within the ISU are still suspended. On June 10, I was selected and immediately automatically suspended. I was immediately deprived of the right to go to the competition. We are officially suspended.

There is no time limit, because it is written in the Congress decision “until further notice”.

– Is there an understanding that figure skating can die, because now the best skaters in the world are Russians?

It is a two-sided coin. There is the concept of commercializing the sport, and we are well aware that the main interest, of course, is with the Russians, who are showing simply fantastic performances. This brings benefits, including the ISU. They pay for us. Everyone understands this very well. The other side of the coin is that everyone wants to get closer to the pedestal. And the countries that clearly lose or give in a little to Russia pursue their own interests. It’s my point of view. Of course, they are happy to keep Russia out, at least temporarily, so they can either get on a pedestal or at least even participate. This is a large number of countries that barely qualify for World Championships, Grands Prix, etc. Now for them a unique opportunity to appear at least on television.

At the Beijing Olympics, in the singles figure skating competition, Russian Anna Shcherbakova won gold, and her compatriot Alexandra Trusova became second. In addition, the Russian national figure skating team has become the best in team competitions.