Russian athletes allow participating in 2026 winter games under a neutral flag, says the IOC

Russia athletes can participate in the Milano-Cortina 2026 winter games under a neutral flag, the International Olympic Committee said on Friday.

The COI decision was expected after a meeting in Milan on Friday and maintains the same sanctions as the summer games in Paris last year.

The IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee in October 2023 after the sanctions were imposed due to the invasion of Ukraine of Russia in 2022, saying that he violated the Olympic Charter.

“We also talk about him Independent Neutral Athletes (Ains). This will be nothing new, “said the president of the IOC, Kirsty Coventry, at a press conference, according to Reuters.” The Executive Board will adopt exactly the same approach that was made in Paris (2024 Olympic Games). Nothing has changed. “

Previously, Russian athletes were allowed to compete under the Russian Olympic Committee, or “ROC”, which appeared for the last time during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. They were allowed to compete under the “ROC” after a series of scandals reduced their access to the games, but that changed for the Paris Games.

Last summer, Russian athletes could only participate under a neutral flag and individual events. They competed without the Russian or Belarusian flag and anthem. Instead, neutral athletes participated.

Belarusian athletes faced the same sanctions because Belarus has acted as a staging field for Ukraine invasion.

The Russian and Belarusian athletes who reach the qualification times will be examined for the first time by any link with the Russian army or the support for the war of more than three years in Ukraine, which will exclude them, said the IOC.

Why is Russia prohibited in the Olympic Games?

Russia’s Olympic athletes have faced a series of scandals and challenges in recent years.

The scandal of Russian athletes who take illegal drugs that improve performance exploded in public opinion in 2015 after a series of leaks and investigations. In November 2015, the entire Russian athletics team was suspended after the world anti -doping agency found what he called a “trap culture”.

To 2016 report He identified more than 1,000 people linked to a doping scheme sponsored by the Russian State between 2011 and 2014. Russia was prohibited in 2017 due to the scheme, but the IOC gave individual athletes the opportunity to request admission to compete as “Olympic athletes of Russia.” Only 168 Russian athletes approved the research process to participate in the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, under a neutral Olympic flag. This was the second time that the Russian athletes had participated under the neutral flag after being in the 1992 unified team.

In 2019, the World Anti -Doping Agency voted Prohibit Russia Of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and the 2022 Beijing Winter Games on handled doping data. Russian athletes were allowed to compete in the Olympic Games, but only if they could demonstrate that they were not part of the scandal.

In 2023, almost 20 months after his war with Ukraine, the IOC suspended Russia with an immediate effect for violating the Olympic letter by incorporating sports councils into four regions in eastern Ukraine. The limited presence of Russians and Belarusians in the 2025 Paris Games satisfied the Olympic body by gathering athletes from all over the world while avoiding a boycott for Ukraine and its closest allies.

Russian teams remain prohibited. The size of the neutral delegation is now depending on international sports federations, which are responsible for the qualification process and some of which continue to prohibit the Russians and berousy of their competitions.

The 2027 Winter Olympic Games in Italy are executed from February 6 to 22.

S. Dev contributed to this report.

• Olympics
• Russia
• International Olympic Committee