Aliona Kostornaia, the world’s top female figure skater last season, tested positive for the coronavirus and will miss a domestic competition this weekend, according to Russia’s figure skating federation.
Kostornaia, 17, will not compete in the fifth and final stage of the Russian Cup domestic series in Moscow on Saturday and Sunday.
The Russian Championships, which are expected to largely determine the nation’s three-woman team for March’s world championships, are in three weeks.
On Thursday, it was announced that fellow skaters Yelizaveta Tuktamysheva, the 2015 World champion, and Dmitry Aliyev, last season’s Russian men’s champion, tested positive and withdrew from the Russian Cup stop.
Kostornaia won the biggest events last season -- the Grand Prix Final and European Championships -- and was a favorite for last March’s world championships before they were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
This season, Kostornaya took second at the Rostelecom Cup two weeks ago behind Tuktamysheva.