“I cannot say that our skaters suffer greatly without international competitions” – Sikharulidze

Russian figure skating does not suffer much without participation in international tournaments, said the acting president of the Russian Figure Skating Federation (FFKKR). Anton Sikharulidze .

In March 2022, the International Skating Union (ISU) suspended Russian athletes from international competitions under the auspices of the organization.

On December 8, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that it would allow Russian and Belarusian athletes who successfully qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics to have individual neutral status. In Paris, Russian and Belarusian athletes can only compete in neutral individual status (AIN), without flags, anthems and other national symbols. The IOC banned the participation of athletes associated with security forces or who have expressed support for the CBO.

— Do you expect any action from the ISU based on the IOC decision?

— It would be more logical to address the question to the ISU, we are open to dialogue, ready to participate in all competitions. Additionally, we are in contact with the ISU management. Alexander Kogan and I had an interaction, we discussed the problems of figure skating in the world and how to solve them. We rely on reason: we see that without Russian athletes, figure skating is not so rich. Of all types. Moreover, he loses if there are no Russians, as the representatives, coaches and athletes of the ISU themselves say. The color we gave is not there. This leads to a whole chain with a lack of funds for development, etc.

In general, in my opinion, if this does not kill interest in figure skating, then it categorically underestimates it. We are ready for dialogue and ways to resolve the problem. We are constantly open to interaction with the ISU. We’ll see when they wake up. In their sleep, they had already started mumbling something. The situation is developing, I hope that very soon we can introduce world figure skating. At the same time, I cannot say that we are suffering much in Russia. You can’t say that. We found ourselves in today’s conditions, helping children grow up and live interesting lives. Athletes are not deprived of attention and rewards for their performances. When I talk with athletes, I don’t see melancholy or sadness. International life is turbulent, of course, but if the situation is like this, we will still find a way out,” reports the correspondent of , reporting Sikharulidze’s words.