Some athletes from Russia and Belarus are allowed to compete at the Winter Games under a neutral flag despite the two nations being banned from the world sports stage. This does not go down well everywhere.
04.02.2026, 04:30
04.02.2026, 06:57
SDA
Like the 2024 Summer Games in Paris, the Winter Olympics in Italy will also take place without the warring sporting superpower Russia and its ally Belarus. Both nations are still banned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) due to the four-year war of aggression against Ukraine.
Concerns from Loch
However, athletes from the two countries will be allowed to compete in Milan/Cortina in some sports under a neutral flag (AIN). As things stand, there are currently 13 from Russia and 7 from Belarus. Among them are Olympic freestyle skiing champion Hanna Huskova, the two cross-country skiers Saveli Korostelyev and Daria Nepryaeva, who have recently advanced to the top of the World Cup field, and luger Pavel Repilov.
Not everyone is happy that Russian athletes can compete in the World Cup again and now also at the Winter Games. "It's still strange for me that they're back. I always have a bit of a stomach ache when Ukrainian and Russian athletes meet or fans stand on the track. I'm always happy when everything goes well," said German double Olympic luge champion Felix Loch, who co-founded an aid organization for Ukrainian war victims.
IBU remains strict
The World Luge Federation FIL is one of several federations that have permitted the participation of AIN athletes in their competitions under certain criteria in accordance with IOC guidelines. For example, the athletes must have no connection to the army or security forces and must not have shown any active support for the war. The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) had to give in at the beginning of December after the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld a complaint against the previous ban on competing. There will now be AIN Olympic participations in alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and freestyle skiing.
Several athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports will also be competing in the Olympic disciplines of the ISU ice skating federation in Italy. The same applies to the new Olympic sport of ski mountaineering. Others, such as the biathlon federation IBU, continue to pursue a strict "anti-Russian course".
Athletes from Russia and Belarus will not hear their anthems at the Winter Games. They will also not be allowed to take part in the opening ceremony, and national symbols and flags are prohibited. Teams from the two nations will be completely banned. In addition, AIN will not be listed in the medal table if they are successful.
Sanctions already imposed in 2018 and 2022
Russia was already represented at the 2018 and 2022 Winter Games under a neutral flag. Back then, more than 150 athletes competed and won 19 and 32 medals respectively. The reason for the IOC sanctions at the time was the state doping scandal that came to light after the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi.
The current IOC ban was imposed after Russia began its attack on Ukraine. For many observers, it was no coincidence that this happened a few days after the end of the Olympic Games in Beijing.
