Sports

12.09.2023

IOC agrees to raise short track minimum age limit for Milan Cortina 2026

IOC agrees to raise short track minimum age limit for Milan Cortina 2026
  • Members of the discussion:

  • Last reply:


A new minimum age limit has been approved for the short track speed skating competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.

The International Skating Union (ISU) has ruled that only skaters that have reached the age of at least 17 before July 1 in 2025 should be eligible to compete at Milan Cortina 2026.

The new age requirement for the Games has been given the green light by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board after accepting a request from the ISU.

The move comes after the ISU Congress in June last year agreed to raise the age limit from 15 to 16 from the 2023-2024 season and 17 from after that.

The ruling applies to figure skating, speed skating, short track speed skating and synchronised skating.

Criticism had been levelled at the ISU during Beijing 2022 after Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva, who was 15 at the time, was at the centre of a doping scandal.

The World Anti-Doping Agency wants a four-year ban for Valieva, and an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport for further sanctions than those imposed by a Russian Anti-Doping Agency Disciplinary Committee is due to be heard later this month.

The IOC Executive Board has agreed to raise the minimum age limit for short track and approved the speed skating qualification system for Milan Cortina 2026 ©IOC
The IOC Executive Board has agreed to raise the minimum age limit for short track and approved the speed skating qualification system for Milan Cortina 2026 ©IOC

The IOC Executive Board also decided at a meeting in Lausanne on Friday (September 8) to approve the qualification system for speed skating.

The criteria follows the same pathway that was in place for Beijing 2022.

Athletes will compete for quota places across 14 disciplines including men’s 500 metres, men’s 1,000m, men’s 1,500m, men’s 5,000m, men’s 10,000m, men’s mass start and men’s team pursuit as well as women’s 500m, women’s 1,000m, women’s 1,500m, women’s 3,000m, women’s 3,000m, women’s 5,000m, women’s mass start and women’s team pursuit.

A total of 164 spots will be up for grabs for Milan Cortina 2026 including 82 for men and 82 for women.

The period for achieving qualifying times is set to run from July 1 in 2025 to January 18 in 2026.

Speed skating and short track speed skating qualification systems are the latest to be approved by the IOC after ice hockey was agreed in March and biathlon, curling, figure skating, short track speed skating and ski mountaineering were ratified in June.





 
Photo: Getty Images
Original source



 
 
Top
Top of discussion

The 2023 World Figure Skating Championships Conclude in a Blaze of Glory for Japan

This Championship was pretty amazing! And it showed that without Russians it didn’t become less interesting. The public doesn’t need quads by 15 year olds to enjoy the competition

Elena Anikina: "We hope, especially considering the position and strategy which IOC has now, that very soon the situation will be changed"

Apparently, soon Russia will have to build luge-bobsleigh tracks not only in Russia, but also in partner countries!) In terms of competitiveness for Russian bobsleigh, this is a st

Alexander Tkachev: "We make sure that our athletes get the most important thing - the opportunity to compete"

Yes, it is an interesting vector of development, it is also important here what projects and initiatives Russia can offer for Asian countries? Will we be able to host the Asian Che

Israeli gymnastics hit by allegations parents were asked to bribe judges

A great case, it seems tha now we need an analogue of WADA, who will investigate attempts to bribe judges, etc. It will be very interesting.

Sport and politics: my experiences as an athlete

Все это лишь еще раз доказывает, что спорт должен оставаться вне политики. К сожалению, чаще всего это просто слова.

Olympian, Nassar survivor Tasha Schwikert Moser on USA Gymnastics' board of directors

Очень круто, когда человек уверен, что именно он может что-то изменить, а особенно когда человек знает спорт изнутри. Уважать!

Disqualified for running in a hijab, Noor Alexandria Abukaram turned pain into action

Хочу поблагодарить эту спортсменку за то, что она не побоялась поставить свою историю в пример. Я считаю, что спортсмен может раскрыть свою религию. Хиджаб – выявленная черта мусул

Suni Lee finds support at Auburn after Olympics 'impostor syndrome'

Случайно, я знаю об этой спортсменке, сделал один вывод, что она точно не блещет, она очень солнечный человек. Жаль, что кто-то не был счастлив, когда она заслужила золото для свое

'Anesthetic injections are....' - WADA chief on doping accusation on French Open winner Rafael Nadal

Да, конечно, спорт — это преодоление себя. А к Рафаэлю вопросов нет, только респект за шикарную игрушку. Но все же, мне кажется, нельзя на сто процентов сказать, что теннисистка то

Give us a chance

Yes, I think athlets from foreign countries understand that all Championships and tournaments are not competitive enough without Russian athlets. I think one day when the situatio

Sport and Politics. Instead of afterword

The question of connection between Sports and Politics was always "exstra burning". So I am interested in your opinion: where should be the border between sport and politics and wh

“Oh, come on, where’s the medals?” or Do the media force athletes too hard?

I am pleased to announce that the British duck has been broken. Team GB will win at least one silver by the end of the Games on Sunday following their win in the Men's Curling semi

We use cookies to improve the site and your interaction with it. If you continue to use this website, you are giving :appName permission to collect and store cookies on your device.