12/10/25 11:03:00
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12/10 08:06 CST Nine Russian and Belarusian skiers get neutral status to
compete in Olympics qualifying events
Nine Russian and Belarusian skiers get neutral status to compete in Olympics
qualifying events
By GRAHAM DUNBAR
AP Sports Writer
GENEVA (AP) --- Three skiers from Russia and six from Belarus --- including
former Olympic and world champions --- were approved Wednesday to compete in
qualifying events for the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games in February.
Their return after exclusion during the full military invasion of Ukraine could
be within days at Davos in Switzerland. Former world junior cross-country ski
champion Savelii Korostelev posted "debut this weekend" on his social media
channels.
The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) said it cleared the
applications of the nine to get neutral athlete status and return to
competitions for the first time since February 2022.
FIS did not state if it rejected some applications, or how many, though the
Russian ski federation told state news agency TASS six of its athletes had
asked for neutral status.
A further level of International Olympic Committee vetting must be passed
before any qualified athlete can be invited to the Winter Games that open Feb.
6. IOC guidelines to sports bodies have kept Russian athletes excluded from
team events in a system enforced for the Paris Summer Games last year.
Athletes who want to compete as neutral individuals without any symbols of
national identity must not have publicly supported the war and not have ties to
military or state security agencies.
Title-winning athletes
Freestyle skier Hanna Huskova took gold in women's aerials for Belarus at the
2018 Pyeongchang Olympics and silver four years later in Beijing.
Anastasia Tatalina was a Big Air world champion for Russia in 2021, and was
fourth in freeski slopestyle at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. She also competed in
Pyeongchang.
Russian cross-country skiers Korostelev and Dariya Nepryaeva also got neutral
status ahead of World Cup races this weekend at Davos.
Both won world junior titles on Feb. 25, 2022 --- one day after the war started
--- racing in Norway. Days earlier, Nepryaeva's older sister Natalya left the
Beijing Winter Games with gold, silver and bronze medals in cross-country
skiing.
Court ruling cleared Russian path
The Russian ski federation and athletes won a ruling last week at the Court of
Arbitration for Sport forcing FIS to start processing applications for neutral
status
Russian athletes and team officials could face challenges getting visas to
enter some countries that host qualifying events on the World Cup circuits in
Alpine, cross-country and freestyle skiing, and snowboarding.
FIS said the approved athletes can compete "provided that they formally accept
the conditions associated with the AIN status," citing the IOC's French acronym
for Individual Neutral Athlete.
The ski and snowboard governing body said more decisions on neutral athletes
will be made in "upcoming days and weeks."
The eventual group of Russian athletes competing in Italy in February is likely
to be fewer than 20 --- a steep drop from more than 200 that went to the
Beijing Winter Games, where they won 32 medals including five gold.
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AP Winter Olympics at https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
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