The International Skating Union (ISU) has opened an investigation after Chinese ice dancers Ren Junfei and Xing Jianing were shown on television with a soft toy shaped like a ballistic missile labelled “DF-61” during the Cup of China Grand Prix at the weekend.
Television footage from Saturday, 25 October, showed Ren and Xing in the “kiss and cry” area after their free dance with a large grey plush toy resembling a missile resting across Xing’s lap. The item had briefly been lifted to camera by the skaters and a member of their coaching team before being placed horizontally across the skater’s knees.
In a statement sent to media, the ISU said it was aware that “an inappropriate soft toy” had been among the items thrown onto the ice by spectators after the pair’s performance, a common figure skating tradition. “The soft toy was subsequently held by the skaters who had just performed. The ISU regrets the incident and will investigate further,” the federation said. It did not specify which rules might have been breached nor the potential range of sanctions.
Ren and Xing are members of China’s national ice dance team and were competing at their home Grand Prix. As is customary at major figure skating events, spectators threw soft toys on to the ice following programmes; arena staff typically remove them swiftly. The missile-shaped toy, marked “DF-61” in black, was among those retrieved and later appeared on the broadcast as the skaters awaited their scores.
The label refers to the Dongfeng-61, a newly unveiled Chinese, land-based intercontinental ballistic missile widely described by defence analysts as nuclear-capable. The system was displayed for the first time during a large military parade in Beijing on 3 September, part of a broader presentation of China’s modernised nuclear forces. Open-source assessments suggest the DF-61 is a road-mobile ICBM intended to complement existing land, sea and air elements of China’s strategic arsenal, though detailed specifications have not been officially confirmed.
