What do they do with Russian figure skaters? Everything is in the hands of WADA

Oddly enough, this year our country is again expelled from figure skating competitions. This is due to the fact that WADA - the Anti-Doping Committee again banned the display of the symbols of the Russian Federation. This is not the first time this story repeats itself, last year at the Summer Olympic Games our flag was already banned, athletes performed under a neutral white flag. Of course, it is unpleasant that instead of a fair fight, we see an outright condemnation of our athletes. The guys at least don't deserve this.

The younger generation is already growing up to replace our honored athletes. What should they do and what is their fault? Sport should remain sport, athletes should not be involved in political battles. Frankly speaking, the inaction of our officials and the position of the Russian sports committee simply destroy the potential of our sports youth, because without participation in serious competitions they do not have a great future that every athlete dreams of.

Although not everything is so sad everywhere. Our biathletes and sprinters have a chance to get to the Olympic Games under our native tricolor (unless, of course, it is replaced with a white flag). But already for the skaters everything is determined and banned. Now our skaters have only one choice, participation from a neutral country. It's a shame for the girls and for the country.

Russian athletes have no great future without Olympiads.

Skaters will be the first to appreciate this news, since this is what they are. They will be one of the first to feel this pain of the expulsion of the Russian boron from the Olympics in Montreal. And it will not be decided by some council of the federation, but WADA, where everything is  tied to the policy against Russia. WADA can, of course, send an invitation to some skaters, but they are unlikely to do so. The saddest thing is that our strongest participants will not be invited. Each has its own goals and benefits.

At the Olympics in Pyongyang, our team was missing Alexandra Stepanova, Ksenia Stolbova and Ivan Bukin. We were not even able to name the reason for excluding them from the list. And then what to say about Alexander Trusova, Alena Kostornaya, Anna Shcherbakova, 13-year-old Camilla Valievua? Each of them can claim Olympic gold. I don’t want to escalate the situation with clichés about “broken destinies” and “ruined careers,” but the girls are really very painful and very ashamed of the  “ fair ” Olympic Games.

It's too early to forget Medvedeva and Zagitova, although they have already proved their superiority to the whole world at the Olympics, but this time they will again have to play under a neutral flag. And this is very unpleasant for all of us, including them. We are sure that more than one Olympic award awaits them.

What were the Russian skaters exchanged for?

WADA's decision threatens to ban all interregional competitions in Russia, which will instantly lead to a drop in the rating of our athletes. We can also lose our refereeing at the ISP.

We can talk about this for a long time, but to summarize ... I am very sorry for the girls, who, being very  young athletes, will not be able to take part in the Olympics. It is a shame for them, for their future and for the sporting future of our country. Good luck with 1win!