There are six Russian sliders on the entry list for this weekend’s World Cup luge races in Lake Placid, New York, all hoping to accumulate enough standings points to earn a berth at this winter’s Milan Cortina Olympics.
They are scheduled to be part of official training on Tuesday, in a session that also will include athletes from Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, Croatia, Finland, Britain, Canada, South Korea, Ireland and Estonia. The Russians are on the start list as AIN, or Individual Neutral Athletes.
Ukrainian athletes — who have made clear that they aren’t comfortable with the notion of Russians being allowed to compete — are all in a different session of training Tuesday, the first day of official preparations at the Mount Van Hoevenberg track.
Training continues Wednesday, followed by a Nations Cup race — essentially a qualifier for the World Cup races — on Thursday. It’s likely that the Russians will slide in the Nations Cup race before getting spots in the World Cup men’s and women’s singles luge events in Lake Placid.
Russians have not taken part in a World Cup luge race since January 2022, part of the response that the International Luge Federation – and other sport governing bodies — had to that country’s invasion of Ukraine.
The International Olympic Committee wants Russians — in many sports — to have the opportunity to compete as neutral athletes at the Milan Cortina Games. Luge, like some other sports, originally refused to allow any Russians to take part this year, then amended those decisions after appeals.
The race in Lake Placid is the third of five races that will count toward Olympic qualifying, and the Russians need some results to enhance their odds of grabbing a berth for Milan Cortina. None of the Russians is expected to be a contender; of the six trying to compete now, only two have previous experience on the World Cup circuit.
The last two qualifying races for luge, in Latvia and Germany, may be difficult for the Russians to enter because the process of getting visas for those countries could be problematic. The Russians said last week that the U.S. granted them visas to come to races in Utah last weekend and Lake Placid this weekend; they skipped the Utah race for reasons that remain unclear.
Meanwhile, International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation said last week it was deeming nine Russians eligible for its races this season. None of those sliders is entered in this weekend’s World Cup skeleton races in Latvia.
