The council of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation has decided to prohibit athletes from Russia and Belarus from participating in qualifiers for the upcoming Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. This ruling, made in Oberhofen, Switzerland, effectively excludes Russian skiers and snowboarders from numerous events at the Games in February.
While the International Olympic Committee permits athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete as “Individual Neutral Athletes,” as seen at the previous Paris Olympics, it is up to the individual international federations governing each sport to determine whether to implement this system in their qualifying rounds. FIS, having banned the national teams of Russia and Belarus since 2022, has chosen not to allow neutral athletes to participate.
This decision by FIS extends to Paralympic events under its jurisdiction, despite the International Paralympic Committee reinstating Russia and Belarus as full members last month.
The potential for conflict arose just days before the start of the alpine skiing World Cup season in Austria. Although Russia does not dominate alpine skiing, it excels in disciplines such as cross-country skiing, snowboard slalom, ski jumping, and freestyle skiing.
The exclusion of Russian athletes as neutral competitors could have led to tensions between FIS and the predominantly northern European countries hosting its World Cup competitions. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, FIS initially allowed Russian skiers to compete without national symbols, but Norway subsequently announced a ban on Russian athletes in their upcoming events, prompting FIS to reverse its stance and exclude Russian skiers altogether.
FIS, being the largest of the nine international sports federations overseeing Olympic sports, will account for nearly half of the total medals awarded at the Milan-Cortina Games. The absence of Russian representation in skiing events may result in only a handful of neutral athletes participating in the Games.
While some federations, like those for ice skating and ski mountaineering, have permitted Russian athletes to qualify, bans remain in place for sports such as hockey and biathlon. A few Russian and Belarusian athletes have qualified as neutrals, with more potential qualifiers anticipated in speed skating and ski mountaineering. In contrast, the Russian Olympic Committee fielded 206 athletes in 2022, while Belarus had 24 representatives.
