MILAN — There are other pairs in Milan who have scored higher than the Netherlands’ Daria Danilova and Michelle Ziba, there are other pairs who can pull off more complex moves, there are other pairs who will take home medals. But it’s safe to say that no pair has had as much fun in Milan as the Russian pair.
This is what happens when you compete in the Olympics, even if your own country doesn’t allow you to participate.
advertise
Danilova and Ziba were the first skating duo to compete in the short program on Sunday night. The night ended with German duo Minerva Fabien Haas and Nikita Volodin recording the highest score in the short program. Two American pairs finished in the top ten that night: Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea in seventh place, and Emily Chan and Spencer Howe in ninth place. But no one had a better time on the ice than the Dutch pair, the only Dutch figure skaters at the Olympics and the first Dutch pair to make it to the Olympics.
Russian Danilova started skating in 2018 with Dutchman Tsiba. They were immediately successful, winning four consecutive Dutch Championship medals from 2020 to 2023 – two gold and two silver. Ahead of the 2025 World Championships in Boston, they had a string of strong results around the world, finishing 15th, which in the eyes of the International Skating Union was good enough to qualify for the Milan Olympics.
Then everything turned around for both of them.
In the eyes of the Dutch Olympic Committee, simply being “good enough” to compete in the Olympics is not good enough. If you’re going to wear Dutch orange to the Olympics, you better be good enough winnot just showing up. This is a directive from the Dutch Olympic Committee*Netherlands Sports Federation (abbreviated NOC*NSF) and has been written into the performance requirements for athletes seeking to compete in the Olympics as members of the Netherlands.
advertise
“NOC*NSF and the sports federation aim to be among the top ten countries in the world for elite sports,” the federation said. This is achieved by winning as many medals as possible in as many different sports as possible at the Olympics. “
To achieve these lofty goals, the NOC*NSF says, “an elite athlete must demonstrate the potential to finish in the top eight at the Olympics.” In practice, this means that even if an athlete qualifies for the Olympics based on international governing body standards, the NOC*NSF can prevent an athlete from participating if they do not meet the standards. Dutch standard.
They mean it. In 2024, the NOC*NSF banned three Dutch golfers — Joost Luiten, Darius Van Driel and Dewi Weber — from competing in the Paris Olympics, marking the second consecutive Olympic Games in which the Netherlands has banned certain golfers. The International Golf Federation attempted to intervene on behalf of the players, but to no avail.
Daria Danilova and Michel Tsiba of the Netherlands compete in the pairs short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics. (Julian DeRosa/Getty Images)
(Julian de Rosa, Getty Images)
In the case of Danilova and Tsiba, NOC*NSF believed that a world ranking of 14th would meet their expectations – one spot higher than their final ranking. The federation gave the pair two more chances during 2025 to reach the designated Dutch points benchmark, but they failed to do so.
advertise
The Royal Netherlands Skating Federation (KNSB) appealed to the NOC*NSF, arguing that the pair’s world ranking of 14th, combined with a string of outstanding performances, was enough to guarantee Olympic qualification. A Change.org petition organized by fans seeks the same reconsideration.
Meanwhile, Ziba and Danilova were on an “emotional rollercoaster,” in Ziba’s words, between ecstasy and heartbreak.
“I remember when I was just driving and I was so excited to try training, I suddenly thought ‘Olympics’ and then I just started crying out of the blue,” Ziba said. “I was cooking and listening to music and listening to, I don’t know, Eminem or whatever. And then I thought about the Olympics and I started crying because it’s like a knife in your heart, you know?”
Finally, three days before Christmas, they received the greatest gift of all: finally allowed to compete in the Olympics.
advertise
“Requests to use discretion are rarely granted,” NOC*NSF director of elite sports André Cats said in December. “There has to be a truly exceptional reason. After a thorough examination of the situation, we are convinced that this is the case and that is why we have made this exceptional decision.”
With their Olympic prospects already sealed and the pairs short program scheduled for just over a week after the opening ceremony, Danilova and Ziba enjoyed every bit of their Olympic experience. They attended the opening ceremony and stayed for so long that they were the last Dutch athletes still in the stadium. They visited the badge trading center in Milan. They reveled in the splendor of the Olympic Village.
advertise
“She’s one of the best skaters in the Netherlands and she gave us some guidance and she said, ‘OK, we’re working on a plan for you guys,'” Ziba said. “Because you skated late in a competition, you came here and you were a tourist the first two days… when she went to the Olympics,” she said [for the first time]she was so in her own bubble that afterwards she would say, ‘I didn’t like anything. ‘”
Once they finally get to the ice, how will Danilova and Ziba fare if given the chance? Well… at least they had fun. They performed an elegant performance to Raury’s “Take Back the Power,” and when they were done, they hugged and kissed on center ice. They ranked 17th among 19 pairs and missed the free skate qualification by 0.58 points. But they were smiling throughout, and they laughed for a long time after the skate, along with several members of the assembled media.
“Everything that happened this season is behind us,” Ziba said, “and we have to have a fresh start. So it’s great, yeah.”
They may have lost at the Olympics, but they made sure they didn’t lose the party.
