This article was last updated on September 22, 2025
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Russians and Belarussen Under neutral flag Welcome to Winter Games in Milan
Under neutral flag, Russian and Belarussian athletes are welcome at the Winter Olympics of 2026 in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. With this, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses the same line as during the Paris Games last year.
The two countries are not allowed to delegate teams. Only individual athletes are welcome unless they actively support the army or the war in Ukraine. 32 Russian and Belarussian athletes participated in Paris.
The Skating Union ISU reported earlier that skaters from Russia (under certain conditions) were allowed to participate in qualifying competitions for the Winter Games. Other international unions such as the International Skifederatie (FIS) and the International Biathlon Union (IBU) still keep athletes from Russia and Belarus.
Not the first time
For Russian athletes it is not new that they are not allowed to end up under their flag. During the 2020 Games in Tokyo, which were held in 2021 because of the Corona Pandemie, Russians participated under a neutral flag because of a doping penalty that Russia had received.
Also in 2022, during the Beijing Games, Russians were only allowed to participate under the same neutral conditions due to the doping scandal.
Russian Biathlete Oestjoegov loses medals
The IOC has taken the gold medals of the Russian biathlete Jevgeni Oestjoegov. He was found guilty of doping use during the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver and 2014 in Sochi.
The Frenchman Martin Fourcade gets gold with retroactive effect for his achievements in 2010. The German relay team takes over the Russian gold from 2014. Austria therefore gets the silver and Norway the bronze.
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