Home / Sports / Neutral Status Granted to Russian Winter Olympians
Neutral Status Granted to Russian Winter Olympians
2 Dec
Summary
- Russian skiers and snowboarders can compete as neutrals in Olympic qualifiers.
- The Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned the FIS ban on Russian athletes.
- Athletes must meet eligibility standards, including no public support for the invasion.
Russian and Belarusian winter sports athletes have secured a significant legal victory, allowing them to compete in qualification events for the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics as neutral athletes. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled against the International Ski and Snowboard Federation's (FIS) ban, overturning a decision that had excluded Russian athletes for nearly four years. This ruling comes after similar legal successes for Russian and Belarusian athletes in other sports, based on the principle that sports bodies should remain politically neutral.
The CAS decision mandates that Russian and Belarusian athletes who meet FIS eligibility standards should be allowed to enter international events. These standards typically require athletes to have not publicly supported the military invasion of Ukraine and to have no ties to state security agencies. Despite this win, significant logistical hurdles remain, including obtaining visas for qualifying events and the tight timeline before the January 18 qualification deadline.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will still need to assess the neutral status of these athletes before officially inviting them to the Games. While some Russian and Belarusian athletes competed under neutral status at the Paris Summer Games, both countries were banned from team sports. The number of Russian athletes expected to compete at the Winter Games is anticipated to be relatively small, estimated by the Russian sports minister to be around 15.
