"Russians will compete as neutral independent athletes without a national flag or anthem at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games, the International Olympic Committee has said, maintaining the same sanctions as the Paris Summer Games last year. The IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee in October 2023 for recognising regional Olympic councils for Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhia following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, saying the move had violated the Olympic Charter."
"A small number of individual Russian and Belarusian athletes were allowed to take part as AINs in the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics after first passing rigorous vetting by the IOC. They competed without the Russian or Belarusian flag and anthem. Instead, they took part as neutral athletes. Four Russian figure skaters in men's and women's singles were recently approved by the International Skating Union to try to qualify for the Games, which start on February 6, 2026 in Italy, as neutral athletes."
Russians will compete as neutral independent athletes at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games without a national flag or anthem, under the same sanctions applied at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee in October 2023 for recognising regional Olympic councils in Russian-occupied Ukrainian regions Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhia, citing violation of the Olympic Charter. Russian and Belarusian athletes who meet qualifying standards will undergo rigorous vetting for links to the Russian military or support for the Ukraine war, and such links will exclude them. Russian teams are banned while a few vetted individuals may participate as AINs.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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