Is this the end of a long series? The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) canceled on Tuesday, December 2, the total exclusion of Russian and Belarusian skiers from international competitions. A decision which opens the way for their presence but only under a neutral banner at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina. An event which will take place from February 6 to 22.
If they “meet the criteria” established by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to access neutral status, athletes from the two countries “should be authorized to participate in qualifying events” of the International Ski Federation for the next Winter Games, explains the jurisdiction in a press release.
Athletes from these two countries have been excluded from international events since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
This decision, taken urgently the day after a closed-door hearing, was expected since the CAS reasoned in the same way at the end of October for Russian lugers, while the international body of the discipline wanted to continue to ban them completely.
But its scope is all the more important as the FIS oversees disciplines (alpine, cross-country and freestyle skiing, snowboarding) representing more than half of the podiums at the Winter Olympics, Russia being historically dominant in cross-country skiing.
Seized of two separate requests, on the one hand by the authorities and 12 Russian skiers and para-skiers, on the other hand by the federation and five Belarusian skiers, the CAS recalled “that the statutes of the FIS protect individuals against discrimination and require that the FIS be politically neutral”.
Therefore, the highest court in the sporting world ruled that the FIS had excluded skiers from the two countries “on the basis of their nationality, regardless of whether” they met “the eligibility criteria for neutral individual athletes.”
Renewing in mid-September the system adopted for the 2024 Paris Olympics, the IOC opened the way for Russian and Belarusian participation under a neutral banner as long as the athletes concerned are not under contract with the army and have not actively supported the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Furthermore, ruled the CAS, Russian para-athletes will be able to participate in the Paralympic Games “under the same conditions as other para-athletes”, that is to say with anthem and flag, since the International Paralympic Committee voted at the end of September for their full reinstatement.