An Olympic ice skater has been barred from representing the USA at the upcoming Winter Games due to an issue over her American citizenship.
Alisa Efimova, a two-time US national champion in pair skating, was born in Finland but has skated for the United States since 2023 alongside husband Misha Mitrofanov.
The couple had been expected make Team USA‘s official roster for the Games next month but were dealt a huge blow due to complications around Efimova’s citizenship.
Mitrofanov is an American citizen by birth but Efimova was born in Finland and only moved to the United States full-time when they became partners in 2023.
She received a green card that year but faced a three-year waiting period for citizenship, which left her in bureaucratic limbo regarding her eligibility at the Games.
Unlike the International Skating Union, who have allowed Efimova to represent the US, the International Olympic Committee require competitors to be citizens of the nations they represent.
Pair skaters Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov will not be competing at the Winter Games
Due to issues with Efimova’s US citizenship, she is not eligible to represent the United States
The couple, along with US Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, had been working to speed up the process in the hopes of a ‘last-minute miracle’.
Efimova tried to expedite her citizenship request so she could be approved in time for the Games.
However, they could not sort out the red tape before the Olympic roster was submitted on Saturday afternoon and, thus, will miss out on the Games entirely.
As a result, they will instead head to Beijing for the Four Continents competition.
Speaking on the crushing news, Mitrofanov said: ‘Whenever we first started as a team, we didn’t know whether or not the Olympics is even a possibility.
‘We knew it was a long shot because of the paperwork. The more we progressed with our skating career, the closer we got to that opportunity.’
‘There were so many people who messaged us and reached out to us wanting to support us,’ he said. ‘So, for us, we’re very grateful.’
Despite being dealt the crushing blow, the couple remain optimistic about competing at the 2030 Games which are set to be held in the French Alps.
Efimova was born in Finland but has skated for the US since 2023 alongside Mitrofanov
The couple are two-time U.S. national champions and two-time Grand Prix medalists
Efimova said: ‘We’re thinking about it. Four years is a very long time. For now, I think we’re just thinking of how to approach the next season, because this situation, and after these nationals, it left us with some kind of hunger to make it.
‘(If) we make it in four years to the Olympics, I think it would be even more valuable, even more precious. So that’s definitely a motivation,’ Efimova explained.
After Efimova and Mitrofanov missed out, the two US spots for the upcoming Winter Games have been allocated to pairs Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea, as well as Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.
Team USA has never won a gold medal in pair skating and haven’t won a medal in the event at all since 1988, when Jill Watson and Peter Oppegard won bronze.
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US ice skater barred from competing at Winter Olympics over nationality issue