Russia banned as neutral athletes at Winter qualifiers

Following a vote by the sport’s governing body on Tuesday, athletes from Russia and Belarus will not be able to compete in qualification events for the upcoming Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina.

Russian and Belarusian skiers and snowboarders will not compete in the Games, which will begin on February 6 with the exception of a late change, as a result of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation’s (FIS) decision.

As they did at the Paris Olympics in September, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that Russian and Belarusian athletes could compete in the Winter Games under a neutral flag and strict rules, but the final decision would be up to individual sports federations.

Since the 2022 conflict with Ukraine broke out, athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport have been prohibited from many sports.

Russian ice skating champions Adeliia Petrosian and Viktoriia Safonova will compete as AINs, but they will have to.

Russian and Belarusian athletes were permitted to compete under their own flag at the Paralympics and World Para-sport events when the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) voted to lift partial suspensions last month.

6 to 15 March are the dates for the Winter Paralympics.