PARK CITY, Utah — Russian athletes have told the International Luge Federation that they obtained visas and are coming to the U.S. for a World Cup race next weekend, a move that Ukrainian athletes believe is simply unfair.
The Russians are planning to compete in Lake Placid, New York, in an effort to boost their fledgling hopes of qualifying for the Milan Cortina Olympics that are coming in February. They are not racing at this weekend's World Cup competition in Park City, Utah, despite some claims from Russian officials in recent days that they would be there.
Russia has not seen its athletes compete in a World Cup luge race since that country invaded Ukraine nearly four years ago. The war rages on, and now Ukrainian athletes are bracing for the likelihood of crossing paths with Russians in competition. It's of no consolation to the Ukrainian sliders that the Russians — if they arrive — will be competing as neutral athletes and not under their nation's flag.
“They are not neutral,” Ukrainian luge athlete Anton Dukach said. “They support war.”
Dukach is Ukraine's top Olympic hopeful in luge. He believes that, if he hadn't made it into a shelter in time, he would have been killed two years ago when a Russian rocket hit his apartment. Some of his neighbors, he said, died in that attack.
He's lost many friends and classmates in the war. He races with them in mind and cannot understand why Russians — who haven't been allowed to compete in many sports because of the war — now have sliders and others being given a shot at making it to the Olympics.
The neutrality issue is paramount. Certain sports federations are preparing to let Russian athletes compete, but only after they are cleared in what is described as an independent review process to ensure that they have not publicly supported the war and are not affiliated with Russia's military or other forces.
“Of course I don’t support this decision,” Dukach said. “The FIL and the (International Olympic Committee) said they are neutral, but I don’t think so. We have proof and we already sent evidence that they are not neutral.”
Russian sliders have been trying for several days, through an office in Kazakhstan, to get visas that would allow them to enter the U.S. The luge World Cups in the U.S. — this weekend in Park City, next weekend in Lake Placid — are part of a five-race Olympic qualifying series, which started with a competition at the Olympic venue in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy last month.
The Russians were allowed to compete there and crossed paths with the Ukrainians. It was not a World Cup event and wasn't open to spectators. No Russian finished better than 19th there, which didn't exactly get the Olympic quest off to a flying start.
U.S. luge athlete Ashley Farquharson said she found herself sitting a room at the track, getting ready to race when she noticed that the other sliders alongside her were Russians and Ukrainians.
“It was a little awkward,” Farquharson said. “I think they all felt the same way.”
The State Department generally doesn't comment on individual visa situations and did not confirm that the Russian applications were approved. It did, however, offer this statement: "We are doing everything possible to support major international sporting events hosted by the United States without sacrificing our national security.”
The IOC has indicated that it wants Russians to have the opportunity to compete as neutrals at the Milan Cortina Games. However, each sport’s own federation controls the qualifying events. In events like skiing, snowboarding, bobsled, skeleton and luge, governing bodies originally refused to allow any Russians to take part, then amended those decisions after appeals.
If the Russians get into a World Cup — or the Olympics — they would be competing as “Individual Neutral Athletes" and not under their homeland's flag. And even if they compete in Lake Placid, the path to Olympic qualifying may still be very murky. The two remaining Olympic qualifying races after Lake Placid are in Latvia and Germany, and obtaining visas to enter those countries may be difficult for the Russians.
“I've always been proud to represent my country,” Dukach said. “It's even more important now.”
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AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report.
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