With his presence at the 2026 winter Olympic Games still uncertain, Russian athletes face the rejection of various modalities to reintegration in their competitions, compromising their hopes of participation even under neutral flag.
If athletes have until January to meet the classification criteria, their luck must be decided before: the new president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Kirsty Coventry, stated that the theme “will be on the executive committee’s agenda” in September or December.
By sending the congratulations to Coventry when he took office, on March 20, Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the interest of former Zimbababan mediator for the “real promotion of Olympic ideal nobles.”
So far, however, “few things have changed,” AFP Terrence Burns, former marketing chief of the IOC.
“Coventry is still beginning. She is known to be a discreet leader, focused on athletes and diplomatic, but was also part of the circle near [Thomas, ex-presidente do COI] Bach. So far, your approach seems to be that of continuity, not a radical change. “
Power also in winter sports, Russia has been unable to use its flag in the Olympic scenario for ten years: first due to the state -orchestrated doping scandal – thereby competed under the Olympic flag in 2018 – and later with the Russian Olympic Committee (2021 and 2022).
Shortly after Beijing’s Winter Olympic Games concluded in February 2022, the Russian army broke into Ukraine with Belarus’s support, triggering a series of sports sanctions.
Russia and Belarus have not participated in international competitions in their territories since then, and their flags, hymns and leaders are excluded from world sport.
As for athletes, they were first excluded “for their protection,” according to the IOC, before being progressively reinstated from March 2023.
For the Paris-2024 Olympic Games, the IOC has imposed such rigid conditions (neutral flag, no team competition, no bond with the army and security services, no public support for the Ukraine invasion, without a fashion show in the Opening Ceremony) that the delegation of “neutral individual athletes” had a discreet participation.
Of the 15 Russians who competed under neutral flag, only the Andreeva and Diana Shnaider tennis players got a silver medal in the pairs, while the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) was 20 gold, silver and 23 bronze medals at the Tokyo Games in 2021.
As Coventry was part of the IOC Executive Committee that established this device, everything leads to believing that, except for a ceasefire in the Ukrainian conflict, the same solution will be in force from February 6 to 22, 2026 for Milan-Cortin Winter Games: Russians and Belarusians will participate in a fewer and under neutral flag.
“For our movement, it is preferable for all athletes to be represented,” Coventry told Sky News in March.
While the IOC takes its time, several winter sports federations maintain the total exclusion of Russians, starting with the International Ski Federation, whose modalities represent more than half of the podiums of winter games.
The Biatlo International Federation follows the same line, as well as that of Luge, which conducted an anonymous research among its athletes and revealed “its concerns about safety, Olympic quotas, compliance with the anti -doping and equity regulation” in the case of the return of the Russians.
The skating federation, in turn, scheduled for December 20 the opening of a narrow path to the Olympic classification, with the participation of an athlete by country and by category, only in individual competitions.
In any case, the competitions will be affected, especially the artistic skating, in which Russia, the leader in the sport, got silver and bronze in the doubles race at Beijing-2022 games and won gold and silver in the individual female, which was marked by the disqualification of doping of his young wondering, Kamila Valieva.
“It’s the work of Coventry to navigate this situation. Coordinating all sports, avoiding contradictions, protecting the integrity of games without aligning any block. That’s where your leadership will be put to the test,” summarized Terrence Burns.
