“We are not politicians; we are athletes. We are asking for the right to fair competition to be returned to us.” Aleksandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin appeal to IOC President
Stepanova and Bukin appeal to IOC President, requesting permission to compete in Olympic qualification.
original source: Telegram
The International Skating Union (ISU) did not allow Russian pairs and ice dance duos to participate in the Olympic qualification. Only singles skaters were granted neutral status.
Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin, who were the top contenders from Russia for the Olympic qualification in ice dance, released the following statement on their social media,=.
“This is our official message to the representatives of the International Skating Union and the International Olympic Committee, represented by the President of the organization Kirsty Coventry.”
“We are Russian figure skaters who have represented our country on the international stage for over 10 years. We are European Championship medalists, participants in World Championships, and Olympians from the 2022 Beijing Games. We were hopeful contenders for the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan.
It is with great pain and disappointment that we recently learned of the decision by the International Skating Union to not allow us to compete in the Olympic qualification. Unfortunately, we have not received any official explanation for this decision.
This letter is an attempt to get the answers that we, as professional athletes, deserve.
To the esteemed ISU Committee, we wish to understand why we were excluded from the list of contenders. What specific actions or circumstances served as the basis for this decision? Why was our pair not even given the chance to fight for a place at the Olympics? What criteria were used for the selection process, and was it transparent and consistent for all athletes?
We are also addressing this appeal to Ms. Kirsty Coventry, President of the International Olympic Committee. We understand that this decision was not made by you personally. However, we sincerely believe that a person of your experience and authority can influence the actions of sports organizations.
Ms. Coventry, we appeal to you first and foremost as someone who has gone through years of grueling training, intense qualifications, the stress of competition, and the joy of victory. We are confident that no one understands better than you what it means to live with the dream of the Olympics.
This is not the first time this has happened to us. In 2018, we were denied the right to participate in the Olympic Games without any explanation. Back then, we were not even informed in advance, nor were we accused of anything or found guilty of any wrongdoing. We simply continued to train. Today, history is repeating itself, and once again, we are left without answers.
We are not politicians; we are athletes. We are figure skaters who have worked since childhood for the right to skate on Olympic ice.
For centuries, Olympic values have been built on the pursuit of excellence, fair competition, and mutual respect. Where are those values today?
Ms. Coventry, you are the pride of your country, Zimbabwe. Imagine if you were denied the right to compete at the Olympics solely because of your nationality. No explanation, no trial, no chance to defend yourself. That is exactly what is being done to us today.
We are asking you, as a representative of the Olympic Movement, to intervene and demand that the ISU provide an official explanation for our exclusion.
We are asking for the right to fair competition to be returned to us. To have our dream restored. We believe in the Olympic spirit. We believe that sports should be above politics. And we hope that you believe in this too.”
Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin.”
Related topics: Alexandra Stepanova Ivan Bukin, ISU, Olympic Games
My Dear Bukin, even if you claim political neutrality ( which is totally untrue as your support for the war is clear everywhere ), you also had a credible doping ban. You can’t seriously expect IOC to ignore your two serious issues. You were never in contention for gold anyway so who cares?
Eager participation in Tula “Z” show, social media post of how “honored” they were to support Putin speech where he speaks of nuclear bombing Ukraine, 2018 doping violation…how could Russia fed be serious about naming this team for qualification, do they not read criteria?
Just another sad illustration of Russian “we are above all rules thinking”. Those two are among the most active Putin supporters there are and their self-victimization is so sick.
Nice, but adressed to wrong person. They should adress this to Putin.