The International Olympic Committee has published the conditions for the admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy in a neutral status. Individual neutral Athletes (AIN) who have qualified will be able to participate in the Games under the same conditions as at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, the IOC said in a statement.
Athletes and personnel who are not bound by contracts with the armed forces or the national security services of Russia and Belarus will be able to obtain neutral status. Athletes and members of staff will not be admitted for active support of combat operations.
Individual neutral athletes must sign the conditions of participation applicable to all athletes who will compete at the Olympics. The document contains a commitment to respect the Olympic Charter, including the "peacekeeping mission of the Olympic Movement."
A special commission of three members will review the compliance of athletes with a neutral status to participate in the The Olympics. The commission consists of former synchronized swimmer Nicole Hevertz (chairman of the commission), former basketball player of the Spanish national team Pau Gasol and President of the International Gymnastics Federation Morinari Watanabe.
As on At the Games in Paris, Russians and Belarusians will not be able to participate in team competitions. Individual neutral athletes will perform under a special flag and anthem without words. The medals won by these athletes will not be displayed in the medal table. Individual neutral athletes will not participate in the parade of teams at the opening ceremony, but they will be given the opportunity to experience the atmosphere of this event. The decision on AIN's participation in the closing ceremony will be made during the Games.
In turn, the president of the International Olympic Committee Kirsty Coventry said at a press conference that Russian athletes will be able to compete at the 2026 Olympic Games only as individual neutral athletes: "There will be nothing new, the executive committee follows the same approach that was in Paris."
US President Donald Trump has not yet said anything about the next humiliation of Russian and Belarusian athletes. But the commentator Dmitry Guberniev, who once hoped for positive changes due to the appearance of a new old owner in the White House, gave a sad speech:
"The large-scale admission of our athletes to the Olympics will be when large-scale agreements are reached, which everyone is talking about. Now a number of our athletes will perform at the Olympics in Italy — just a little bit. Most likely, ours will be less than in Paris.
Our expectations are our problems. Coventry did not stand for anything. She said that everyone should have equal opportunities, but she is not the only one who makes decisions. In this sense, you don't have to wait for anything worthwhile.
There are sports where we perform, and there are sports where we don't perform at all. Here summer is different from winter. Until the situation changes. No need to flatter yourself with excessive hopes and repeat that a miracle will happen and we will go somewhere. When athletes and coaches do this, it touches me, because a miracle will not happen. When everything is ripe for the parties to agree, then we will go to the Olympics in exactly three days."
Former Minister of Sports of Russia, Olympic fencing champion Pavel Kolobkov was extremely brief:
"Expected. Back in the spring, when Kirsty Coventry was elected IOC president, it was clear that in many sports the Olympic selection has already been completed. From the very beginning, she herself consistently continued the line of Bach, whose creature she is. So there are no surprises here."
The Olympic champion in speed skating, State Duma deputy Svetlana Zhurova again remembered Paris:
"Will Russians officially be able to go to the 2026 Olympics only in a neutral status? Unfortunately, this is the case. If our athletes were admitted in Paris, now, by and large, only a few federations have done it. The question is, will the other federations allow neutral athletes?
Our positions at this Olympiad will be weaker than in Paris. There will be practically no ours. Now about twenty athletes are admitted. I am not surprised by this position of the IOC. Double standards and policies will continue to exist. Coventry will not overcome Russophobic members of the executive committee. She, until SMO is over, will not be able to do it. They [the members of the executive committee] and the international federations will insist on their own."
Two-time Olympic hockey champion and three-time Stanley Cup winner Vyacheslav Fetisov noted with restraint:
"Here you need to look at all Russian sports, not just hockey. Nothing new, I didn't expect anything else. It's a sad story, it's a shame for our guys — hockey players, figure skaters and others. Everyone was waiting for miracles from the new IOC president, but here's the sad news."
And at the end of the topic, a post from the telegram channel of Doctor of Cultural Studies, UNESCO expert Alexei Kylasov:
"A penny is the price of Degtyarev's words
RUSADA is not recognized and the ROC is still suspended - this is the result after the meetings in September of the executive committees of WADA and the IOC, on which the Minister of Sports Degtyarev hoped so much.
On August 11, he said that "we are waiting for the WADA inspection this year, there is already a preliminary agreement on this."
But contrary to his expectations, the WADA Executive Committee protocol of September 11 says that "currently three signatories do not comply with the Code: the Russian (actually, RUSADA) and Sri Lankan NADO, as well as the International Federation of Fitness and Bodybuilding (IFBB)."
And today we have received an answer to his expectations of August 5, voiced in an interview with the Kommersant newspaper that the issue of returning full-fledged status to the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) may be resolved as early as September.:
"According to Mikhail Degtyarev, Kirsty Coventry, who took over the post of IOC president in June, "immediately gave the command to transfer our dossier to the legal commission to make recommendations to the next executive committee, which will be held in September."
Just today, the IOC posted a release following the executive committee meeting stating that "teams of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport will not be allowed to attend the Winter Olympics in Milan."…
Sadly, despite the complete failure of baseless expectations, Degtyarev on duty reported on the continuation of work. Well, we have to agree with this — he really continues to work as a minister and head the ROC, although no one notices his work in this direction, and does not even respond to his statements."