Figure skating|Yuka Orihara is seeking Finnish citizenship because he wants to do next winter with Juho Pirilä.
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Finnish couple Yuka Orihara-Jeho Pirinen placed 14th in the World Championships in Figure Skating in Boston.
The couple’s participation in the Olympics is in danger as Orihara needs Finnish citizenship.
Japanese Orihara has lived in Finland since 2019.
Salla Mäkelä, Executive Director of the Figure Skating Association, describes the situation as challenging and uncertain.
Finnish Ice dancers succeeded so nicely in the Figure Skating World Championships that Finland has two sure place for next winter’s Olympics. Couple Juulia Turkkila–Matthias Versluis reached 11th and Yuka Orihara–Juho Pirinen 14th in the race in Boston on Sunday.
However, the participation of Orihara and Pirinen in the ice dance of Milano -Cortina in February 2026 is not clear at all.
In the Olympics, both athletes must be a citizen of the country they represent. The 24-year-old Orihara is a Japanese citizen.
He is seeking Finnish citizenship. The process is in the process of being in a hurry.
“The application is pending, but the situation is challenging. We do not know if the authorities will deal with it in time,” the CEO of the Figure Skating Association Salla Mäkelä tells you.
“We are loose in the logs, so to speak. These things don’t go very fast.”
According to Mäkelä, Finland does not have an Olympic ice dance pair that would use the land if Orihara and Pirinen are unable to receive it.
“The situation at the moment is that we can only wait. The time is until the end of this year. Skators must be announced to the Olympics by the end of December.”
Orihara has lived in Finland since August 2019. The application process for a continuous residence permit started last fall.
He has had a fixed -term residence permit. To get citizenship can be obtained, you first need a continuous residence permit.
The audience of the World Championships clapped on the free program of Orihara and Pirinen.
Application for citizenship A report on monthly income must be provided. The applicant must show that he can survive and live in Finland.
Figure skaters are not paid, but income comes from support and partner agreements. Therefore, it is not as easy to verify Orihara to fulfill the fulfillment of a living condition as a hockey player or a football player who enjoy a regular monthly salary.
Orihara, who lives in Helsinki, has learned how to speak Finnish and control it quite smoothly.
Orihara Treats practical things like office visits yourself. The role of the Figure Skating Federation is to support the athlete.
“We help him find the means, but we cannot influence the processing of the application. It goes one among others. There is no shortcut,” says Salla Mäkelä.