Former Bolshoi Theater ballerina Anastasia Volochkova says Russian athletes are bullied because of their competitiveness.
Her words were quoted by Championship.com.
“I believe that our Russian athletes are a threat to the entire world of sports. That's why the bullying happens: they are banned from flying the Russian flag, their scores are lowered, it's terrible. I consider it a professional, I know what skating is,” she said.
On September 19, 2025, the head of the International Olympic Committee, Christie Coventry, announced that the organization would maintain the same approach towards Russian participation in the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy. In the end, 13 Russian athletes entered the competition as neutrals, including single skaters Adelia Petrosyan and Pyotr Gumennik, as well as skiers Daria Nepryaeva and Savely Korostelev. Athletes have won only one medal so far – ski mountaineer Nikita Flippov won silver.
Figure skaters Gumennik and Petrosyan took sixth place in individual tournaments.
