Denmark denies citizenship to Russian-born speed skater despite her European gold medal

European speed skating champion Sofia Thorup (née Prosvirnova) will miss the 2026 Winter Olympics after Denmark refused to grant her fast-track citizenship, which she had expected to obtain through marriage.

Source: Sofia on Instagram

Details: Sofia, who represented Russia under the surname Prosvirnova until 2022, attempted to quickly change her citizenship after marrying Danish speed skater Viktor Thorup. Although she qualified for the Games, local authorities blocked her fast-tracked application for naturalisation.

Sofia claimed that the Danish officials' decision was due to their reluctance to have foreign nationals involved in developing the sport in Denmark.

Quote: "The given reason was that they would like to develop it from the bottom up with Danish skaters on Danish soil, and that I would not be considered a good role model for the young kids."

Details: Sofia won four World Championship medals and 18 European Championship medals for Russia between 2015 and 2022.

On 11 January 2026, she won Denmark's first-ever gold medal in the mass start at the European Championships in the Polish city of Tomaszów Mazowiecki. Sofia finished with a time of 8:39.72, ahead of Italy's Francesca Lollobrigida.

She began to switch to the Danish national team in April 2023.

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