The committee has stated that only individual Russian and Belarusian athletes, who have been vetted, will be permitted to compete under a neutral flag.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced that Russian and Belarusian national teams will continue to be excluded from the 2026 Winter Games, set to take place in Italy. This decision prolongs the current sanctions, permitting only individual, vetted athletes to participate, and solely under a neutral banner.
Following the heightened conflict in Ukraine in 2022, both Russia and Belarus faced exclusion from the Olympics and various other significant sports competitions. The IOC subsequently introduced exemptions, enabling certain athletes to partake in the Games as individuals under neutral flags, a policy observed at the Paris Olympics in 2024, while national teams remained prohibited.
“Teams comprising athletes holding a Russian or Belarusian passport will not be taken into consideration,” the IOC affirmed on Friday.
Instead, only approved competitors from these two nations are eligible to participate as individuals, carrying a neutral flag. Similar to the Paris Games, a dedicated commission will review each applicant, disqualifying those who are found to “actively support” the conflict or who are contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or security forces.
IOC President Kirsty Coventry informed journalists: “The Executive Board will adopt precisely the same approach as was implemented for the Paris [2024 Olympics]. No alterations have been made.”
Coventry, elected earlier this year, has previously expressed her disapproval of prohibiting nations from the Olympics based on armed conflicts.
Russian authorities have consistently criticized Western countries, alleging they politicize sports and pressure sports federations to exclude Russian athletes for political motives.
Notwithstanding the limitations, Russian athletes have sustained their success in various events. Last month, Russian swimmers secured 18 medals, six of which were gold, at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. This marked their initial opportunity to compete since 2016 under the IOC’s regulations. The contingent, participating as neutral athletes, achieved a fourth-place overall finish.
Moscow has denounced the IOC’s sanctions as a distortion of the Olympic Charter, which dictates that the Games should be devoid of political influence.
The 2026 Winter Olympics are scheduled to take place in February, across the cities of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.