Russian athletes at the upcoming Winter Olympics in Italy are still barred from representing their country.
Even if a peace deal is reached with invaded neighbor Ukraine, Russian competitors at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games will not be able competing under their national flag, International Olympic Committee President Kirsty Coventry told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera on Friday.
“At this stage, nothing would change the Committee’s decision,” Coventry told the outlet ahead of the games, which run from February 6 to 22.
The IOC will be upholding the sanctions introduced nearly four years ago due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“The channel is open with the Olympic Committees of Russia … ,” Coventry replied when asked if the IOC has been speaking with the Russian strongman Vladimir Putin.
The continued ban means that athletes with Belarusian or Russian passports can only participate as Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs), representing themselves.
They are prohibited from using their country’s flags, anthems, or team uniforms — and are not permitted to compete in team events or participate in the opening ceremony.
The decision on whether AINs will be allowed to partake in the closing ceremonies is still to be determined and “will be taken during the Games, taking into consideration that it is not teams that take part in the Closing Ceremony, but all the athletes jointly together,” the Olympics website explained.
AINs even have their own team flagand anthem, which has no lyrics.
“During the victory ceremonies, the AIN flag will be flown and the AIN anthem will be played,” the website continued.
During the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, 32 athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport from 10 different sports participated, “without any incident on or off the field of play,” according to the website.
But the website also made it clear that “athletes who actively support the war will not be eligible to be entered or compete,” and “athletes who are contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies” will also be banned from competition.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that a US-backed peace deal is “90% ready,” with Russia’s hard demands and refusal to make any real concessions remaining the key issue.
The post Russian athletes at Winter Olympics can’t rep country, even after peace deal appeared first on New York Post.
