Ukrainian figure skaters did not get a license for the 2026 Olympics: what went wrong in Beijing
22 September 18:46
A licensing figure skating tournament is underway in the Chinese capital, where athletes are competing for passes to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. Ukraine was represented in ice dancing by the couple Maria Pinchuk and Mykyta Pogorelov. This was reported by Suspilne Sport, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports
Start with hope
The Ukrainians performed quite confidently in the first type of the program – rhythm dancing – scoring 62.11 points. This allowed them to enter the top 10 and keep their chances of getting a license.
However, in order to get the quota, they needed to reach the top 4, and before the free dance, the gap was more than seven points.
Finish below expectations
The free dance program proved to be decisive: the judges gave the Ukrainians 91.70 points. The overall result was 153.81 points and 12th place.
Teams from Lithuania, Australia, Spain, and China won tickets to the Games. The Lithuanians won the tournament with a score of almost 199 points.
A personal challenge
In a commentary to Suspilne Sport, Maria Pinchuk admitted that she had a serious injury when she went on the ice:
“I had a compression fracture and sprained ligaments in my knee. I tried to compete despite the pain, but it definitely affected the result.”
A historic failure for Ukraine
For the first time in history, the Ukrainian team did not receive a single license for the Olympic Games in ice dancing.
Earlier, another pair, Sofia Golichenko and Artem Darensky, also failed to make it to the top 3 in the sport dance. They finished in fifth place, which did not qualify them for the quota.
The only hope remains for Kyrylo Mursak, who will still perform in the qualifying tournament. He dedicated his program to his military father, who is currently serving at the front.
Ukraine has traditionally had representation in figure skating at the Winter Games. The last time, in Beijing 2022, Ukrainian athletes participated in pairs skating and ice dancing, but without good results.
Now the country risks being left without participants in a key discipline that has always been among the most spectacular and popular in figure skating.
