TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Estonia’s skating federation says the government has rejected Russian figure skater Alexander Zaboev’s fast-track application for Estonian citizenship, meaning he won’t be able to compete in the Sochi Olympics.
Zaboev was hoping to compete in pairs with Estonia’s Natalja Zabjako, with whom he’s been skating since 2012. Olympic rules say pairs have to be citizens of the same country.
Federation spokesman Gunnar Kuura didn’t say on Thursday why the fast-track application was rejected. He says the 24-year-old Zaboev was determined to become an Estonian citizen and seek citizenship “through the standard, longer procedure.”
Estonia will be represented in the Sochi figure skating competition by one male and one female skater.
