The International Skating Union (ISU) has introduced new rules limiting age differences in pair skating and ice dancing. From now on, only duets will be able to compete in these disciplines, where the age difference between athletes does not exceed seven years.
The decision was made “for safety reasons”, the ISU said. This is reported by daily.afisha.ru.
Previously, it was possible to see couples with a significant age difference at competitions. For example, the 2022 Olympic silver medalist Hao Zhang (27 years old) competed in a pair with 15 years old Peng Cheng.
In 2023, the duet Yumei Sun and Zing Li performed at the Chinese Championships, where the partner was only 10 years old and the partner was 23 years old.