MILAN – Russian figure skater Petr Gumennik was forced to change his short program music two days before the men’s event at the Milan Cortina Olympics after joining the growing list of figure skaters battling copyright issues.
Gumenick, who is competing in the Winter Games as a neutral athlete, had been working throughout the season to score the music for the film “Perfume: The Story of a Murderer,” a psychological thriller. But the 23-year-old Russian national champion discovered in the past few days that he did not have the proper permission to perform at the musical, leaving him in limbo as the Winter Games begin.
Given such a short deadline, Gumenick was unable to get approval for his music for the previous season, which came from the space opera film “Dune”. So he turned to “Waltz 1805” written by Edgar Hakobyan, for which Gumennik was able to obtain permission.
The men’s competition begins with a short program on Tuesday night.
Last week, Spanish skater Tomas-Lorenc Guarino Sabate was forced to work hard to get the music approved for his short program based on a medley from the animated comedy film “Minions.” Sabate had been presenting the fan-favorite program throughout the season, but learned that Universal Studios was set to reject its use during the Winter Games.
Sabet began working on a backup program while two cuts of music were being approved. He got third by reaching fellow Spaniard artiste. And they were allowed to use the final piece, “Freedom”, written by Pharrell Williams, on Friday.
“This has not been an easy process, but the support of everyone who has followed my case over the past few days has been vital in keeping me motivated and optimistic,” Sabate said.
Belgium’s Loena Hendricks was also concerned about copyright issues after Celine Dion performed “Ashes” from the movie “Deadpool 2.” Ultimately he switched to another Dion song, “I Surrender”, which was easier to get permission to use.
The copyright issue has become a major problem in figure skating in recent years. For decades, athletes could only use music without words, much of which was considered public domain. But when the International Skating Union relaxed its rules in 2014 and skaters began using more modern music, some artists began to object to the use of their work without permission.
The ISU has tried to develop systems to avoid copyright issues, but they continue to crop up with worrying frequency.
“This is a very, very, very serious problem,” said ISU President Jae Yul Kim. “We don’t want athletes to be worried about the music.”
What may work against Gumenik is that Russian skaters have been barred from international competition since his country’s invasion of Ukraine, so few people have been able to see him skate outside their country – and hear his music.
In May, the ISU announced that Gumennik had been investigated for any ties to the Kremlin and that he had been cleared to compete as a neutral athlete if he qualified for the Winter Games. Gumenik won the Skate to Milan competition held in late September as a last-chance qualifier to earn a spot in her first Olympics.
Gumennik’s free skate music is from “Onegin”, a Russian historical romance film for which he received a nod.
Adelia Petrosyan, another Russian competing as a neutral athlete, will compete in the women’s competition in Milan. She has not reported any problems with her music, including a Michael Jackson medley for her short program and classical music for her free skate.
