Raimo Reinsalu has twice broken his provisional suspension from International Skating Union (ISU) events in the month since the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld the ISU’s decision.
Reinsalu is prohibited from “all ISU activities and events” until the ISU Disciplinary Commission rules on whether he broke the Ethics Code by allegedly physically and emotionally abusing skaters. Reinsalu denies the allegations.
On Wednesday, March 4, Reinsalu was spotted at Junior Worlds with his co-coach Olga Kovalkova, and was also seen in the stands speaking to one of his athletes competing in the Junior Women’s event. He was not accredited at the competition. His presence was reported to the ISU safeguarding team, who confirmed that he was not supposed to attend the event in any capacity.
After the Latvian skaters failed to make the free skate, Reinsalu’s club, Kristal Ice, posted a story with the text: “We want to say big THANKS to each person who destroyed this season 2025/26 for Latvian Figure Skating!”
The following week, Reinsalu attended the Daugava Open Cup, an international and interclub competition held in Latvia and authorized by the ISU. At that event, Reinsalu was visible on the livestream on March 12th and 13th, coaching athletes including Fedirs Kuliss, Kirills Korkacs, Sergey Sokolov, and others.
Several skaters and coaches made complaints about Reinsalu’s presence to the organizers of the Daugava Open Cup and to the Latvian Skating Association (LSA). The competition organizers have not responded to a request for comment from AnythingGOEs.
Reinsalu’s presence at these events points to the difficulty in enforcing a suspension across different countries and organizing committees. In Latvia and in Estonia, where Junior Worlds was held, Reinsalu has many connections in the skating world and may still hold enough influence to make local organizers wary of confronting him.
Karine Magone, a coach whose athletes are competing at Daugava Open Cup, contacted the leadership of the LSA in advance at the event, asking them to ensure Reinsalu would not be present. “I was frustrated that I would have to deal with all this again during the competition,” said Magone, “so I approached them with this question in a timely manner, they promised that they would take care of everything and do everything, but unfortunately, those were just words…”
The LSA has not issued any statement on Reinsalu’s suspension. In January, after the Latvian police had begun an investigation into his alleged abuse of skaters, the LSA board nonetheless confirmed him as the team leader at the European Championships.
The LSA has not responded to requests for comment from AnythingGOEs.
Content warning: physical and emotional abuse, suicide attempts, injury, disordered eating
Read Part One: “Its Not Worth Your Life”: Latvian Skaters Speak Out About Abuse
Read Part Two: New Allegations Emerge as Latvian Club Defends Coaches Accused of Abuse
Read Part Three: Skaters Criticise Latvian Federation’s Late and Inconsistent Funding
Read Part Four: Latvian Police Investigating Abuse by Coaches
Read Part Five: ISU, Lithuanian Olympic Committee suspend coach accused of abuse
Read Part Six: Court of Arbitration for Sport upholds provisional suspension of coach accused of abuse
