Trusova beat jet lag: two weeks before her first start in four years

Alexandra Ignatova, whom the whole country still calls Trusova, returned from China — and got on the ice that same day. The recipe against jet lag worked instantly, but the skater saved the main news for a postscript: there were only two weeks left before her first international tournament in four years.

Jet lag turned out to be not a problem, but a reason for training class=»notranslate»>__GTAG8__

In August, Trusova flew to China to skate in an ice show there, where Russian stars have been regularly invited lately, since international venues are still largely closed to them. I returned back without a hitch: not to sleep off after the flight, but straight to the skating rink, xrust reported. In her Telegram channel, the figure skater explained the logic: early training immediately upon arrival is the best way to break down a broken regime, and added a postscript, which became the main news — there are exactly two weeks left before the first competitions after a four-year break.

It sounds everyday, but behind this phrase is one of the longest pauses in the career of an active top-level Russian figure skater.

Why two weeks is actually a big date

You need to count not from the last tournament, but from March 2022, when Russian skaters were completely removed from international competitions. Four years without official competition under the auspices of the ISU is a significant period even by the standards of a sport where careers are already short. During this time, Trusova not only survived the change of her last name to Ignatova, but also gave birth to a child in 2025, and in January 2026, announced that she was returning to the sport under the leadership of Eteri Tutberidze.

Formally, the way back opened on June 30, when the ISU allowed Russians and Belarusians to compete in the 2026/27 season, but without national symbols — the flag, anthem and any other paraphernalia usual for international competitions. From that moment on, the list of those admitted to the competition began to grow in waves.

How the list of neutral skaters was compiled

The first to pass the filter in mid-July were the singles athletes: Adelia Petrosyan, Alisa Dvoeglazova, Anna Frolova, Alina Gorbacheva and Grigory Fedorov. Soon several more names were added to them, including Margarita Bazylyuk and the couple Victoria Dvinina/Artyom Petrov.

August 7 became a real milestone: then several iconic figures received neutral status at once — Kamila Valieva, Pyotr Gumennik and Alexandra Ignatova (Trusova) herself. For Valieva, this decision is especially significant: it opens the way back after a four-year disqualification for violating anti-doping rules. Gumennik remains the only Russian singles skater who managed to compete at the 2026 Olympics in a neutral status.

Then the list only grew: by mid-August the number of those admitted exceeded 70 people — from singles to couples and dance duets. The fresh wave brought status to several more sports couples and dancers — Kira Domozhirova and Viktor Potapov, Milana Kuzmina and Dmitry Studenikin. The partners of some of them, by the way, received admission even earlier — a fairly common detail of this process: statuses are approved not in pairs, but for individual athletes, which is why duets sometimes take to the ice “at odds” on dates.

What Trusova is bringing to Tokyo

Her first start after a long pause will be the Challenger series tournament — Kinoshita Group Cup in Tokyo, September 4-6. The Challenger format is not the most prestigious level in the ISU calendar, but in the current situation it is more a smart tactic than modesty: enter the warm-up tournament before asking for serious competitions, where quotas for Russians are already limited.

Ignatova’s track record is such that it’s not appropriate for her to be modest: silver at the 2022 Olympic Games, bronze at the World Championships, two medals at the European Championships and the title of Russian champion. The jumping content, for which she was called the main ultra-skater on the planet, has not physically disappeared during the four years of absence — the only question is whether the form will return after childbirth and a long period of inactivity.

Return without a flag, but not without intrigue

Formally, neutral status means admission without the anthem and tricolor. In fact, for Russian figure skating, this is the first opportunity in four years to see familiar names in the protocols of international tournaments, and not just at domestic starts and in ice shows. There are still enough questions — for example, for the couple Anastasia Mishina/Alexander Gallyamov and Alexandra Boykova with Dmitry Kozlovsky, according to sources, the status is not coordinated as smoothly as for singles.

But the trend has clearly emerged: the reintegration process has moved from the waiting stage to the stage of specific dates and flights. For Trusova, this date was September 4. And for millions of her fans, a simple morning workout after a flight from China, which suddenly turned out to be the main sports news of the day.

What they say and what they expect

class=»notranslate»>__GTAG7__On social networks, the reaction to Trusova’s news was twofold. Some fans are happy about the simple fact: an athlete of her level is again training for results, and not for a show program. Others are more restrained — they remind that the Challenger tournament in Tokyo is far from the Grand Prix, and even more so from the World Championships, which means it is too early to talk about a full-fledged return. Figure skating experts generally agree that choosing just such a start is a reasonable insurance policy: after four years without official competitions and childbirth, the body needs acceleration at a tournament with not the highest competition before reaching a serious level.

Nevertheless, the very fact that Trusova, Valieva and Gumennik received status in one wave — on August 7 — is regarded by many as a signal: the ISU is ready to admit not only “safe” debutants like juniors, but also the main stars of the former Russian national team. The issue of quotas at top tournaments has not gone away: how many places the Russians will actually get at stages older than Challenger, the federation will only have to find out in negotiations with the ISU during the season.

For Trusova herself, the applied question is much more important — whether the jumping content will return in its previous form. Before the break, she remained the only figure skater who consistently performed quadruple jumps at the international level. If form is restored at least partially, Tokyo in September may not become a warm-up start, but an application for much more serious ambitions this season.

So neutral status is just a formality. The real intrigue will be solved by ice.

Sources:
sportmail.ru
fontanka.ru
championat.com

Xrust Trusova beat the jetlag: two weeks before the first start in four years