Skiing's Governing Body Bans Russian Athletes From 2026 Olympic Qualifiers

The council of skiing’s main governing body, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), has voted to bar Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing in its Olympic qualifying events ahead of the 2026 Winter Games in Italy.

FIS oversees alpine racing, freestyle, freeskiing, and numerous other skiing disciplines. The council decision prevents Russians and Belarusians from participating in these events at the Winter Olympics, unless something changes.

At the 2024 Summer Olympics, competitors from Russia and Belarus were also banned from representing their countries because of their home nations’ involvement in the Ukraine-Russia war. 

Some were allowed to compete in those Olympics, though, as “Individual Neutral Athletes” (AIN) with the caveat that Russian or Belarusian national uniforms, anthems, and flags didn’t appear. The AINs also couldn’t be active supporters of the war or contracted to their national militaries.

In Italy this winter, the IOC is also allowing AINs to appear with the same stringent rules.

At the same time, the committee lets sport federations like FIS decide if AINs can join their qualification systems, and FIS, per its recent council decision, won’t let them enter the events that could earn them a ticket to the Olympics.

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Previously, in 2022, FIS banned Russian and Belarusian national teams from international competitions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The latest FIS decision could vastly narrow the number of events at the Winter Olympics that have Russian and Belarusian participants. TheAssociated Press reported that the federation is overseeing almost half of the Winter Olympic medal events. 

FIS also expanded its reach in snow sports when it announced that it had bought the Freeride World Tour in 2022 and made freeride a FIS discipline two years later. This winter, the federation is hosting the first-ever Freeride World Championships in Andorra.  

Just two winter sports governing bodies have opened channels for Russian and Belarusian Olympic qualification so far, according to the Associated Press: the International Skating Union and the International Ski Mountaineering Federation.

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