Russian Athletes to Compete in 2026 Olympic Qualifiers
They are therefore cleared to participate in qualification events for the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.
They will need to formally accept the conditions associated with the Individual Athlete Neutral status.
These athletes will be bound by all existing FIS rules, including participation quotas.
Belarusian freestyle skiing aerialist Hanna Huskova, who won gold at Pyeongchang 2018 and silver at Beijing 2022, headlines the initial list.
Also named is Russia’s Anastasia Tatalina, who took gold in the women’s ski big air at the 2021 World Championships.
Russian cross-country skiers Korostelev and Dariya Nepryaeva also got neutral status ahead of World Cup races this weekend at Davos.
More athletes could also now be granted permission to compete.
Athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports have been banned from many sports since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Last year 15 neutral Russians and 17 neutral Belarusians accepted an invitation to compete in Paris on the condition that they did so without flags, emblems or anthems of their country.
Image c/o 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics
Since the Court of Arbitration for Sport issued its decision on 2nd December, athletes and support personnel have been individually contacting FIS to request AIN status.
Each application requires an independent third party to carry out due diligence checks, generating a report that is the basis for a decision by the FIS Individual Neutral Athlete Eligibility Review Panel.
Over the course of the upcoming days and weeks, as more eligibility reviews are conducted and more decisions are made, FIS will publish updated versions of the AIN list.
The final list of Russian athletes competing in the 2026 Olympics is likely to be under 20.
Over 200 athletes went to the Beijing Winter Games in 2022, where they won 32 medals, including five gold.
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