As during the last Summer Olympics organized in Paris in 2024, Russian and Belarusian athletes will be able to participate in the winter Olympics in 2026 in Milan-Cortina but as individual neutral athletes. Four years after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, only a handful of them traveled to Italy.

Published on: 05/02/2026 - 16:28

12 years ago, in Sochi, Russia hosted the Winter Olympic Games, with great fanfare, under the watchful eye of President Vladimir Putin, with a delegation of 225 athletes. Starting Friday, February 6 in Milan-Cortina, Italy, only 13 will participate in the different events, the smallest Olympic contingent for Moscow since the 1908 London Games.

In 2014, the competition was marked by a raid by Russia, first in the medal ranking with 33 in total, including 13 gold. But since then, four charms have been withdrawn in the country due to a widespread state doping system which marked the start of a long banning of its athletes. In 2017, following a three-year investigation by the IOC into the scandal, the Russian National Olympic Committee was suspended.

A year later in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Russian athletes were, however, allowed to participate in the Winter Games, but under the Olympic flag and by invitation marked "Olympic athletes from Russia". At the following Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2021 and Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022, they were able to compete again but under the banner of their Olympic committee and without any mention of Russia. Russian athletes won 17 medals in 2018, 71 in 2021 and 32 in 2022.

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Heavy sanctions after the invasion of Ukraine

This year, the chances of getting on a podium seem very slim. After Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Russian Olympic Committee was once again suspended, as was that of Belarus, a country considered a close ally of the Kremlin, which has provided it with military support.

In Milan-Cortina, however, certain athletes can compete, as in Paris in 2024, but under the banner of “neutral individual athletes” (AIN). As the IOC explains on its official website, these athletes are subject to “strict eligibility conditions”. They must submit their file to an examination committee and “commit to respecting the Olympic Charter, in particular the peace mission of the Olympic Movement”. The main mission of this panel, made up of three people, is to ensure that these athletes do not actively support Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Despite this scrupulous examination, criticisms are being heard. According to the BBC, of ​​the 13 Russian athletes authorized to compete under a neutral banner in Italy, four have links to activities supporting the war in Ukraine. The British media cites in particular the example of figure skater Petr Gumennik, who was trained by Ilya Averbukh, "former ambassador of Crimean sport", having participated in events in many territories occupied by Russia.

Questioned by the BCC on this subject, Vladyslav Heraskevych, the Ukrainian flag bearer for the opening ceremony, a skeleton specialist, did not hide his dissatisfaction, believing that the IOC should review its eligibility framework for neutral candidates. “Whether it is preparing to compete in occupied territories or supporting the war on social media, it is absolutely wrong to call them neutral, because they are not,” he said.

In response, the IOC said it could not comment on individual cases, but that the panel had "examined the athletes in accordance with the decision of the executive board and the principles it established."

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Absences of brand

Russian and Belarusian athletes will in any case not participate in the opening ceremony and their flags will not fly at Milan-Cortina. If one of them wins an event, their country's national anthem will be replaced by the Olympic anthem. They are also not allowed to participate in collective sporting events, which notably deprives hockey star Alexander Ovechkin and other Russian NHL stars from competition.

Despite these notable absences, a Russian figure skating star could still bring home a medal. At 18, Adeliia Petrosian is the only skater from her country authorized to compete in the 2026 Olympics. She received the approval of the International Skating Union (ISU) to take part in the qualifying event, organized last September in Beijing. She won the victory, and therefore her ticket to the Games, notably beating the Belgian Loena Hendrickx, double world medalist, before winning a third consecutive title in December at the Russian championships.

This season, the Russians remained excluded from all competitions organized by the ISU (world and European championships, Grand Prix, etc.). So much so that the Olympic qualifying event was his only appearance on the international scene for four years. As for Belarus, which will field seven athletes, the greatest chance of a medal rests on the shoulders of Hanna Huskova. A specialist in acrobatic jumping, she won gold in Pyeongchang and silver in Beijing.

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A return in 2028?

If Russia and Belarus appear to be weakened sportingly today, the situation could change in the coming months. While the International Ski Federation had excluded all competitors from the two countries from qualifying competitions for the 2026 Winter Olympics, receiving the approval of several stars of the discipline, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) had canceled this exclusion, deeming it "discriminatory", thus allowing skiers to be present in Italy.

The day after the statement by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who said he wanted to lift the ban imposed for four years on Russia from participating in international competitions, the new IOC President, Kirsty Coventry, also presented a more conciliatory face. During her opening speech at the 145th IOC Congress in Milan, she argued for the right of all athletes to participate in sporting competitions, regardless of the behavior of their governments.

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Without directly mentioning Russia, she said: "Throughout the campaign and in our many exchanges since, I have heard the same message from you: 'Let's focus on the essentials.' government.”

Sport Illustrated thus estimates that Moscow seems to "hope to be reinstated in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles". The American magazine recalls in this sense the remarks made last September by Mikhail Degtyaryov, the president of the Russian Olympic Committee: "A major event that we are all aiming for is that of the 2028 Summer Olympic Games, which will take place in the United States. We are preparing to participate in full (...) We will actively continue our return to the international sports scene."

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