Russian figure skater Adeliia Petrosian says she's feeling 'excellent' at Olympic practice

MILAN (AP) — Russian figure skater Adeliia Petrosian said she is feeling “excellent” after a practice session at the Winter Olympics on Monday with her controversial coach, seemingly dispelling injury concerns.

Petrosian was joined by coach Eteri Tutberidze for a half-hour session at the practice rink next to the venue where she will compete in the women's short program Tuesday against the likes of Amber Glenn and Alysa Liu.

“Mood is excellent,” Petrosian said when asked how she was feeling after the skate.

Petrosian seemed comfortable on the ice as she rehearsed her free skate routine and landed numerous clean triple jumps. After finishing her program she had a couple falls on jumps late in the session but seemed unshaken.

Petrosian is due to compete as an “individual neutral athlete” at the Milan Cortina Olympics due to restrictions on Russia's participation during its war in Ukraine.

She's only competed once in a senior competition outside of Russia and her fitness had been uncertain following comments about injuries last month in a recent Russian documentary.

The International Skating Union vetted Petrosian before granting her neutral status for the Olympic qualifier she won in September, when Tutberidze wasn't listed in her entourage.

The International Olympic Committee manages coaches' accreditations for the Olympics, where Tutberidze is also present as a coach for a Georgian men's skater.

The ISU said in a statement issued during Petrosian's practice that it had “a robust series of protocols” covering the vetting of athletes and coaches for the qualifiers.

“The Olympic Winter Games and related rules are the responsibility of the IOC,” the ISU added.

The IOC said Tutberidze was at the Games as a coach for Georgia and indicated she won't be rink-side when Petrosian skates in competition.

“As at all Olympic Games, during training, figure skating athletes are able to seek guidance from other coaches that they know well,” the IOC said in an e-mailed statement. “During the actual competition, the athletes may only be coached by their accredited team officials.”

Tutberidze has coached numerous Russian women’s skating champions including Kamila Valieva, whose doping case overshadowed the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Then-IOC President Thomas Bach was critical of the “coldness” displayed by Valieva's entourage toward the skater, who was 15 at the time, when she missed the podium.

The World Anti-Doping Agency's president said this month that an investigation found no evidence Tutberidze was implicated in Valieva's doping case but that he was personally not “comfortable with her presence here in the Olympic Games.”

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Individual Neutral Athlete Adeliia Petrosian, right, speaks with coach Eteri Tutberidze, center, and choreographer Daniil Gleikhengauz, during a figure skating practice session at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Individual Neutral Athlete Adeliia Petrosian performs during a figure skating practice session at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Individual Neutral Athlete Adeliia Petrosian skates during a figure skating practice session at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Individual Neutral Athlete Adeliia Petrosian skates during a figure skating practice session at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Individual Neutral Athlete Adeliia Petrosian, left, speaks with choreographer Daniil Gleikhengauz, center, and coach Eteri Tutberidze, during a figure skating practice session at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Individual Neutral Athlete Adeliia Petrosian skates during a figure skating practice session at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Portland, which is welcoming a WNBA team back to the city after 24 years, selected veteran forward Bridget Carleton with the first pick in Friday's expansion draft.

Guard Julie Allemand, who played last season for the Los Angeles Sparks, was selected by the Toronto Tempo with its first pick.

The Tempo won a coin flip and opted to take the sixth pick in the college draft on April 13 over the top pick in the expansion draft. So Portland went first on Friday and will have the seventh pick in the college draft.

Carleton, who has played for the last seven seasons for the Minnesota Lynx and averaged 6.5 points and 3.6 rebounds a game last season off the bench, was an unrestricted free agent.

“Once we finalized our process, and zoomed in on Bridget, and knew we had our first expansion pick, it was obvious we did not want to have Toronto hold our destiny in their hands," Portland general manger Vanja Cernivec said.

Allemand averaged 5.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 5 assists in 34 games last season.

“This group gives us the ability to compete from day one while continuing to build, and embraces the opportunity to help shape something new in a new country as Canada’s first WNBA team,” Toronto general manager Monica Wright Rogers said.

The league's teams protected five players apiece ahead of the expansion draft but those lists were not made public, leading to speculation about which players were available.

On Wednesday, the Chicago Sky announced trades with the Tempo and the Fire, which prevented the expansion teams from selecting Sky players. In exchange, the Fire got the No. 17 pick in the college draft and the No. 26 pick went to the Tempo.

The expansion draft had two rounds, with up to six picks for each team in each round. The teams alternated picks, with the Tempo picking first in the second round after the Fire got the first overall selection.

Teams could only lose two players to the expansion draft. If a player was taken in the first round, a second player from that same franchise couldn't be taken until the second round.

Following Allemand, the Tempo selected center Nyara Sabally from the Liberty, guard Marina Mabrey from the Sun, forward Aaliya Nye from the Aces, guard Lexi Held from the Mercury, and forward Maria Conde from the Valkyries.

In the second round the Tempo selected forward Maria Kliundikova from the Lynx, center Adja Kane from the Liberty, center Nikolina Milic from the Sun, guard Kitija Laksa from the Mercury, and guard Kristy Wallace from the Fever.

After Carleton, the Portland Fire selected guard Carla Leite from the Valkyries, center Luisa Geiselsoder from the Stars, forward Emily Engstler from the Mystics, guard Maya Caldwell from the Dream and forward Chloe Bibby from the Fever.

In the second round Portland took guard Haley Jones from the Wings, forward Nyadiew Puoch from the Dream, guard Sara Ashlee Barker from the Sparks, guard Sug Sutton from the Mystics and guard Nika Muhl from the Storm.

Mabry was also an unrestricted free agent. Each team was allowed to pick only one unrestricted free agent.

The teams still do not know when free agency will open. More than 80% of the players are free agents this year, as many players have expiring contracts or opted out of the previous collective bargaining agreement.

The college draft is set for April 13 and training camps open on April 19. The season will start on May 8.

The Tempo and Fire join the WNBA as the league's 14th and 15th teams. Portland previously had a WNBA team, also called the Fire, that played from 2000 to 2002.

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

Toronto Tempo general manager Monica Wright Rogers, right, and assistant general manager Eli Horowitz pose for a photo after speaking to media following the WNBA Expansion Draft in Toronto, Friday, April 3, 2026. (Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press via AP)

FILE - Minnesota Lynx forward Bridget Carleton (6) dribbles the ball up court against the Phoenix Mercury during the second half of Game 2 of a WNBA basketball playoff semifinals series Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn, File)