Viewers of the 2026 Winter Olympics is not going to see Russian or Belarusian flags as each nations’ Olympic groups stay beneath sanctions imposed as a result of 2022 invasion of Ukraine. That doesn’t imply, nevertheless, that every one athletes from these nations are prohibited from collaborating within the Milano Cortina Winter Video games. Exemptions stay in place for athletes who meet sure standards, however these eligible will compete beneath a impartial banner.
The Worldwide Olympic Committee introduced in Could 2025 that Russia and Belarus will probably be prohibited from competing as nationwide delegations due to their involvement within the warfare in Ukraine. The IOC first known as for athletes from these nations to be banned from worldwide competitors in February 2022 “to guard the integrity of world sports activities competitions and for the security of all of the contributors.” Russia and Belarus had been banned from the 2024 Paris Olympics beneath the identical rationale.
Some particular person athletes acquired clearance within the 2024 Summer time Video games to compete with out representing their respective nations. They as an alternative competed as Particular person Impartial Athletes beneath a impartial flag and anthem.
Russian and Belarusian athletes who sought eligibility for the 2026 Winter Video games had been additionally required to fulfill the next standards:
- Athletes and assist personnel who’ve brazenly expressed assist for the warfare in Ukraine is not going to be eligible.
- Athletes and assist personnel who’re contracted by the Russian or Belarusian navy or nationwide safety businesses is not going to be eligible.
- All Particular person Impartial Athletes should meet all the right anti-doping necessities relevant to them.
A 3-member panel, which included former NBA star and three-time Olympic medalist Pau Gasol, was in command of reviewing the eligibility of every Particular person Impartial Athlete.
A complete of 20 athletes certified for competitors on a impartial foundation. There will probably be six Russian males, seven Russian girls and 7 Belarusian girls on the Winter Video games competing throughout eight sports activities: alpine snowboarding, cross-country snowboarding, determine skating, freestyle snowboarding, luge, short-track velocity skating, ski mountaineering and velocity skating.
Belarusian freestyle skier Hanna Huskova headlines the Particular person Impartial Athletes. Specializing in aerials, the 33-year-old received a gold medal within the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Video games and silver within the 2022 Beijing Winter Video games.
Particular person Impartial Athletes is not going to be included within the Parade of Nations throughout the Opening Ceremony. Any medals these athletes win will probably be excluded from the official medal rely. That leaves 92 nations on the medal rely, which tallies podium finishes throughout 16 sports activities.
The sanctions influence Russia considerably, because the nation is a Winter Olympics powerhouse in quite a few sports activities. The Russian males’s hockey crew received silver in 2022 and gold in 2018. Russian determine skaters are additionally usually among the many world’s finest.
