The Russian Figure Skating Federation allowed figure skaters Diana Davis (daughter of the honored coach of the Russian Federation Eteri Tutberidze) and her partner Gleb Smolkin to change the national team. This was reported by American journalist Dave Leese in his blog The Skating Lesson.
“The Russian Figure Skating Federation gave a release [permission to compete for another country] to Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin. Next week, a meeting of the ISU Council will take place, at which a decision can be made on the admission of Russian figure skaters to participate in international competitions. Or maybe they'll delay it until October," wrote Liz.
According to the journalist, the athletes will represent Georgia. The information was also confirmed by R-Sport journalist Vlad Zhukov:
“Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin agreed to move to the Georgian national team. Preliminary permission from the FFKKR (in some form), as far as I know, has already been received. American insider Dave Leese writes about the same. But, as I understand it, everything will be finally decided only after the ISU council on June 9-11. There, a decision can be made on the admission / non-admission of our skaters to international competitions. And if the admission is still there, the guys can theoretically still stay in Russia.”
Judging by the official lists of the Russian Ministry of Sports, Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin were indeed not included in the national team for the 2023/24 season.
The pair Davis and Smolkin have been dancing on ice for five years now, since the 2018/19 season. Their main achievements are the bronze of the junior stage of the Grand Prix, the silver of the Russian championship, as well as their performance at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing (the couple took 14th place).
The International Skating Union (ISU) has previously announced that it will consider allowing Russian athletes to compete in June or October:
“The ISU took note of the IOC statement <…> with its recommendations for international federations on the participation of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport in international competitions. As the season is already drawing to a close, the ISU Board will discuss this issue at its next meeting either in June or October.”
In March, the International Olympic Committee recommended that neutral athletes from Russia and Belarus be allowed to compete in individual competitions.
