Russian athletes will not be allowed to compete under their national flag at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, even if a peace deal ends the war in Ukraine, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Kirsty Coventry told Corriere della Sera Friday.
The IOC’s stance reaffirms sanctions imposed nearly four years ago after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
"At this stage, nothing would change the Committee’s decision,” Coventry said, confirming that Russian and Belarusian athletes may participate only as neutral individuals, stripped of flags, anthems, and team uniforms.
This mirrors the "Individual Neutral Athletes" designation used at the Beijing 2022 Winter Games and Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.
The IOC first banned Russia and Belarus in February 2022, citing violations of the Olympic Charter and international law.
Subsequent consultations allowed carefully vetted athletes to compete individually if they had no ties to military or security forces and followed anti-doping regulations.
In Paris, 15 Russian and 18 Belarusian athletes competed as neutrals, winning three medals without appearing under their national banner.
For Milano Cortina 2026, set across Lombardy and Veneto from Feb. 6-22, roughly 40 Russian and 20 Belarusian athletes have provisionally qualified in disciplines such as figure skating, biathlon, and alpine skiing.
Team events, including ice hockey and bobsleigh, remain barred.
The IOC’s continued restrictions come amid calls from the Ukrainian Olympic Committee to maintain full sanctions, citing ongoing wartime losses and destroyed training facilities.
Coventry, the IOC’s first female president and two-time Olympic swimming gold medalist from Zimbabwe, also endorsed Italy’s multi-city hosting model as "the new normality.” Milano Cortina spreads events across Milan, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Val di Fiemme, and Anterselva, reducing new construction by 80% and boosting regional economies.
She predicted that future Games, including Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2032, would increasingly adopt multi-venue formats to balance costs and sustainability.
With 3,000 athletes from 90 countries expected across 116 medal events, Milano Cortina promises spectacle, but the IOC’s firm line on neutrality underscores that Olympic glory will be personal for some, not national.
For athletes like Russian biathlete Valeria Vasnetsova, the Games will demand perseverance over patriotism.
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