Three skiers representing Russia and six from Belarus, including former champions in the Olympics and world competitions, were given the green light on Wednesday to participate in the qualifying rounds for the upcoming Milan-Cortina Winter Games in February. Their anticipated return to competition, following their exclusion during the Ukrainian military invasion, is expected to occur in Davos, Switzerland, possibly in the coming days. Savelii Korostelev, a former world junior cross-country ski champion, hinted at his comeback this weekend through his social media platforms.
The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) announced that it has approved the applications of these nine athletes for neutral athlete status, allowing them to compete once again after being sidelined since February 2022. Although FIS did not disclose details on rejected applications or the number thereof, the Russian ski federation informed state news agency TASS that six of its athletes had sought neutral status.
Before these qualified athletes can participate in the Winter Games set to commence on February 6, they must undergo additional vetting by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Guidelines from the IOC mandate that Russian athletes are currently excluded from team events, a measure that was also enforced during the Paris Summer Games in the previous year.
Athletes seeking to compete as neutral individuals, devoid of any national symbols, must not have expressed public support for the war and must not have affiliations with military or state security organizations.
Among the notable athletes granted neutral status are freestyle skier Hanna Huskova, who secured gold in women’s aerials for Belarus at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics and claimed silver in Beijing four years later. Anastasia Tatalina, a former Big Air world champion for Russia in 2021, finished fourth in freeski slopestyle at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, also competing in Pyeongchang.
Russian cross-country skiers Korostelev and Dariya Nepryaeva received neutral status ahead of the World Cup races scheduled for this weekend in Davos. The duo both achieved world junior titles on February 25, 2022, a day after the war began, while competing in Norway. Notably, Nepryaeva’s elder sister Natalya exited the Beijing Winter Games with gold, silver, and bronze medals in cross-country skiing.
A recent court ruling at the Court of Arbitration for Sport favored the Russian ski federation and athletes, compelling FIS to initiate the processing of applications for neutral status. However, Russian athletes and team officials may encounter difficulties in obtaining visas to access certain countries hosting the qualifying events on the World Cup circuits for Alpine, cross-country, and freestyle skiing, as well as snowboarding.
FIS emphasized that the approved athletes can compete under the conditions linked to the AIN status, referring to the IOC’s French acronym for Individual Neutral Athlete. The organization stated that additional decisions regarding neutral athletes will be announced in the upcoming days and weeks.
It is anticipated that the contingent of Russian athletes competing in Italy in February will likely be fewer than 20, a significant reduction compared to the over 200 athletes who participated in the Beijing Winter Games, where they amassed 32 medals, including five gold.
