No Ukrainian skater at 2026 Winter Olympics: What's behind this decision
Photo: Taisiia Spesivtseva was a contender for the Games (UFFK)
At the 2026 Winter Olympics, Ukraine will have no representatives in women's figure skating. The national federation has declined to participate in the selection for this discipline, according to the organization's official website.
Absence for the first time in 16 years
The Ukrainian Figure Skating Federation (UFFK) has published the final application for the Olympic qualifying tournament, which will be held on September 19-21 in Beijing, China. No female skaters were included.
Thus, for the first time in 16 years, Ukraine will not be represented in women's singles skating at the Games. This has only happened once before, before the Vancouver 2010 Games, when no Ukrainian athletes managed to secure a quota.
Who was vying for a quota?
Two skaters were contenders for qualification: Ukrainian champion Sofiia Hryhorenko and silver medalist Taisiia Spesivtseva. They were included in the preliminary list for the trip to Beijing.
Meanwhile, Anastasiia Hozhva, the team's leader in recent years, dropped out earlier. She did not obtain a license for the 2025 World Cup, as she is currently recovering from an injury and has temporarily suspended training.
Why Ukraine declined participation
To determine the final lineup for the Beijing qualifying tournament, UFFK chose the Lombardia Trophy competition, held in Bergamo, Italy.
There, Spesivtseva placed ahead of Hryhorenko, finishing 18th versus 19th. However, neither Ukrainian met the technical requirements necessary for selection to the upcoming 2026 European Championships.
It is 75 points for the short and free program. Spesivtseva scored only 47.11, while Hryhorenko's best result this season was 58.55.
Given these low scores, UFFK decided not to enter any participants in women's singles for the Olympic qualification.
Who will compete in the Olympics?
Ukrainians will attempt to earn Olympic quotas in other figure skating disciplines.
Men's singles: Kyrylo Marsak
Pairs: Sofiia Holichenko / Artem Darenskyi
Ice dance: Mariia Pinchuk / Mykyta Pohorelov
Earlier, we reported 5 interesting facts about the 2026 Olympic medals.
