Munich (AP) – Russia has denied pair skaters Minerva Hase and Nolan Seegert and ice dancers Katharina Müller and Tim Dieck entry to training.
“The Bundeswehr informed us of this,” said Reinhard Ketterer, Vice President of Competitive Sports of the German Skating Union, the German Press Agency. Both couples are in the sports promotion of the Bundeswehr.
In response to a query from dpa, the Federal Ministry of Defense announced that it had decided on Tuesday to ban all sports soldiers from taking part in trips and training and competitions in Russia and Belarus. The ban relates to activities that take place as part of their official work. The ministry did not comment on the figure skaters’ failed project.
The Berliners Hase/Seegert had already prepared for the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing in Sochi, Russia, with coach Dmitri Sawin. In Moscow with Anjelika Krilowa, Müller/Dieck from Dortmund train at times. After the Beijing Games, the next highlight of the season will be the World Championships from March 21 to 27 in Montpellier, France.
The International Skating Union announced on Tuesday that figure skaters from Russia and Belarus will not be allowed to take part in the World Championships as a result of the Russian attack on Ukraine.
Ketterer is not worried about Nikita Starostin starting. The 19-year-old Russian has been nominated by the German association for the World Cup. “He will not be entered by the Russian, but by the German federation. That’s why I’m assuming that he’ll be allowed to compete for Germany,” explained the DEU Vice President.