Russian athletes allowed to take part at 2026 Winter Games underneath impartial flag, IOC says

Athletes from Russia might be allowed to take part on the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Games underneath a impartial flag, the International Olympic Committee said on Friday.

The resolution by the IOC after a gathering in Milan on Friday was anticipated and maintains the identical sanctions because the Summer Games in Paris final 12 months.

The IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee in October 2023 after sanctions had been imposed resulting from Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, saying it violated the Olympic Charter.

“We also spoke about the Independent Neutral Athletes (AINs). This will be nothing new,” IOC President Kirsty Coventry mentioned at a press convention, based on Reuters. “The Executive board will take the exact same approach that was done in Paris (2024 Olympics). Nothing has changed.”

Previously, Russian athletes had been permitted to compete underneath the Russian Olympic Committee, or “ROC,” which final made its look through the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. They had been allowed to compete underneath the “ROC” after a collection of scandals curtailed their entry to the Games, however that was modified for the Paris Games. 

Last summer season, Russian athletes may solely participate underneath a impartial flag and particular person occasions. They competed with out the Russian or Belarusian flag and anthem. Instead, they took half as impartial athletes.

Belarusian athletes confronted the identical sanctions as a result of Belarus has acted as a staging floor for the invasion of Ukraine.

Russian and Belarusian athletes who attain qualifying occasions might be first vetted for any hyperlinks to the Russian army or help for the greater than three-year conflict in Ukraine, each of which is able to exclude them, the IOC mentioned.

Why is Russia banned from the Olympics?

Olympic athletes from Russia have confronted a collection of scandals and challenges lately.

The scandal of Russian athletes taking unlawful performance-enhancing medication burst into public view in 2015 after a collection of leaks and investigations. In November 2015, your complete Russian observe and area crew was suspended after the World Anti-Doping Agency discovered what it referred to as a “culture of cheating.”

A 2016 report recognized greater than 1,000 people linked to a Russian state-sponsored doping scheme between 2011 and 2014. Russia was banned in 2017 due to the scheme however the IOC gave particular person athletes the prospect to use for admission to compete as “Olympic Athletes from Russia.” Only 168 Russian athletes handed the vetting course of to take part within the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea, underneath a impartial Olympic flag. This was the second time Russian athletes had participated underneath the impartial flag after being within the Unified Team of 1992.

In 2019, the World Anti-Doping Agency voted to ban Russia from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 Beijing Winter Games over manipulated doping information. Russian athletes had been allowed to compete on the Olympics however provided that they may show that they weren’t a part of the scandal.

In 2023, almost 20 months into its conflict with Ukraine, the IOC suspended Russia with quick impact for violating the Olympic Charter by incorporating sports activities councils in 4 areas in japanese Ukraine. The restricted presence of Russians and Belarusians on the 2025 Paris Games happy the Olympic physique by bringing collectively athletes from all over the world whereas avoiding a boycott by Ukraine and its closest allies.

Russian groups stay banned. The dimension of the impartial delegation now will depend on the worldwide sports activities federations, that are accountable for the qualification course of and a few of which proceed to ban Russians and Belarusians from their competitions.

The 2027 Winter Olympics in Italy run from Feb. 6-22.

S. Dev

contributed to this report.