Russian skating dynasty leaves Milan with no medals and future Olympic status uncertain

MILAN — A high-risk jump, a fall, gasps from the crowd. That's how Russia's domination of Olympic women's figure skating ended.

Adeliia Petrosian came to Milan as one of the few leading medal contenders on the 13-strong “individual neutral athlete” delegation of Russians competing without the country's flag and symbols.

Starting the day fifth in the standings, Petrosian’s medal hopes rested on her not-so-secret weapon, quadruple jumps which no one else in the event could perform.

Petrosian planned two, fell on the first quad toeloop and thought she'd like to “get up and leave quickly,” she said. The 18-year-old skater didn't risk a second quad attempt.

Petrosian said returning to Russia would be “mentally hard” and that she blamed herself.

“Right now I’m just a bit ashamed for myself, the federation, the coaches, the spectators that it turned out like that,” she added.

Gold medal streak ends

Petrosian was sixth, while Alysa Liu won a historic gold for the U.S. It was the first time since 2010 that a Russian skater didn’t win the women’s gold. There were no medals of any kind in figure skating at these Olympics for the sport's longtime superpower, which had only two competitors.

The “individual neutral athlete” delegation has one medal after Nikita Filippov's silver in a new sport, ski mountaineering, earlier Thursday. He said it was “hard” to see other athletes able to compete in their countries' colors.

Russia hasn't competed under its own flag at any Olympics since 2016, first over doping issues, then International Olympic Committee restrictions imposed during Russia's war in Ukraine.

Still, the IOC's approach to the conflict has been a constant point of discussion at the Milan Cortina Games, especially when a Ukrainian was excluded from competing over his plans to compete in a helmet bearing pictures of Ukrainian athletes and coaches who have been killed.

Speculation swirls over Russia's Olympic future

Petrosian said she hopes to be back at the next Olympics. Her skate came amid a gradual loosening of restrictions on Russian athletes in international sports.

Athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus are set to compete with their national flags and anthems at next month's Paralympics for the first time since 2022. The International Olympic Committee has recommended similar steps for Russian youth athletes since December.

Ukraine’s sports minister Matvii Bidnyi told The Associated Press this month that any change to Russia's Olympic status would be “irresponsible” and appear to condone Russia’s invasion as the war’s fourth anniversary approaches.

Asked what she thought about her fans in the crowd being unable to fly Russian flags — barred from the Games under the IOC's neutral athlete rules — and about a potential Russian return to the Olympics, Petrosian opted simply to praise her fans.

“I heard everything they were shouting, how our Russian-speaking spectators supported me,” Petrosian said. “Of course it's pleasant.”