Russia & Belarus Athletes to Compete at 2026 Winter Olympics Under Neutral Flag
21st September 2025
Last modified on September 24th, 2025
The two countries are seeking clarification from the International Olympic Committee, but overall the Olympic sporting status quo remains.
The IOC President, Kirsty Coventry, has confirmed that the IOC Executive Board will take the exact same approach with regard to athletes from Russia and Belarus at Milan-Cortina 2026 was done at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
“Nothing has changed,” she said.
At the Paris 2024 Summer Games a limited number of Russian and Belarusian athletes took part under a neutral flag and without state symbols.
They had to meet certain conditions that included proof of not supporting the war or having ties with any military institutions.
Russia has responded.
“The IOC executive board’s statement that it won’t move from its previous approach to the participation of neutral athletes in the 2026 Games was expected,” said Russian Sports Minister and President of the Russian Olympic Committee, Mikhail Degtyarev.
“Until the ROC’s rights are fully restored, no other decisions can be made.”
IOC Olympic Games operations director, Pierre Ducrey, further clarified on the global federations’ role in opening the door for Russian and Belarussian athletes’s participation.
“We are working with the international federations to understand with the decision we have placed today, what is the fast way for a number of athletes to still qualify for the games. Some of the federations … have not opened the door themselves to the participation of AIN athletes.”
The IOC has confirmed the athletes “will not participate in the parade of delegations (teams) during the Opening Ceremony, since they are individual athletes. But an opportunity will be provided for them to experience the event.”
It’s not the first time that Russia’s flag will be missing from the Winter Games.
The IOC created a similar pathway for the country to participate in the PyeongChang 2018 as clean individual athletes.
Following the suspension of the ROC due to state-sponsored doping.
Russian athletes who passed anti-doping tests were able to compete under a neutral Olympic flag, uniforms and march to the Olympic anthem.
See more on Inside the Games
Image c/o Milan-Cortina 2026
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