Two rays of hope from Latvia in figure skating at the Milan Olympic Games
Latvia will be represented in the figure skating competitions at the upcoming Milan and Cortina Olympic Games by two athletes – the experienced Deniss Vasiļjevs and the Ukrainian-born Fedirs Kuliš. As Latvian Public Media informs, both figure skaters, although different in their skating style, have recently tested their strength at the European Championship in Great Britain. This will be Vasiļjev’s third time at the Olympic Games, but for Kuliš it will be the first Olympic Games in which he will compete as a citizen of Latvia, which he obtained only a couple of months ago. The Winter Olympics in Italy will take place from February 6 to 22.
Denis Vasiliev: artistic expression and quadruple jumps
Deniss Vasiļjevs, who is a seven-time Latvian champion and 2022 European bronze medalist, will go to his third Olympic Games. He made his debut in 2018 in Pyeongchang, placing 19th, and four years ago in Beijing, he finished 13th. Vasiljevs is known for his artistic and expressive skating, but is currently trying to include quadruple jumps in his programs, which are essential for success in the highest level competitions. This season has not been easy for Vasilijev – it was initially announced that he would end his cooperation with the long-time coach Stefan Lambjela, which created challenges in the first starts. However, he fared better at the recent European Championship, finishing 9th. The athlete has indicated that he is satisfied with what he has done, although he still has health problems and needs injections, while trying to polish the new program.
Fedir Kulish: physical strength and lightness
Born in Ukraine, Fedirs Kuliš, who moved to Latvia four years ago due to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, has acquired Latvian citizenship in mid-December. Kulish, who was born in Kyiv in 2005, once moved to Riga at the age of 16 and was adopted by his figure skating coach, Olga Kovalkova. He emphasizes that he is a physically strong skater with ease in his performance, and he also has quadruple jumps in his arsenal. Experts appreciate the lightness of Kuliš’s performance, but note that the artistic performance and ability to move the audience still needs to be honed compared to Vasiļjeva. He is intensively preparing the program for Milan and learning the Latvian language. Kuliš, together with Denis Vasiliev, won two tickets to the 2026 Olympic Games in men’s figure skating, where he took 24th place in the world championship.
Strengthening the Latvian Olympic delegation and preparing for the games
The Milan and Cortina Olympic Games will take place from February 6 to 22, gathering a record-breaking Latvian delegation, which will consist of 68 athletes. The figure skating competition will be held at the Milan Skating Arena (Forum di Milano) in Asago. The men’s short program is scheduled for February 10, and the optional program is scheduled for February 13. This year, there is a trend that better results can be achieved by those figure skaters who are able to present their performance as a show, able to move the audience. Both Vasilijev and Kuliš will have to focus on performing technical elements as well. After a year, both athletes have already participated in the European Championship, where Vasilijevs ranked 9th, and Kuliš got 24th position.
