FiscalFusion

Russian skiers and snowboarders won a court ruling to apply as neutral athletes for qualification events to the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics after nearly four years of being excluded due to the war on Ukraine. Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyaryov said an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned a blanket ban imposed by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) days after the full military invasion in February 2022, which FIS had renewed in October. CAS later published its ruling, giving Russian and Belarusian winter sports athletes another legal win. Sports bodies have excluded Russians mainly for security reasons to protect athletes and prevent protests. There is limited time for a three-person FIS panel to process applications for neutral status before the Jan.

18 qualification deadline. The Milan Cortina Olympics begin on Feb. 6, with FIS running 57 of 116 gold medal events. Russian athletes and officials also face challenges getting visas for qualifying events in Alpine, cross-country, freestyle skiing, and snowboarding. Degtyaryov expects a small Russian team of around 15 athletes, far fewer than the 200 who competed in Beijing 2022 under the ROC banner, winning 32 medals including five gold.

Recently, six Russians competed as Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) in a luge test event at Cortina but did not finish higher than 19th. They did not register for World Cup races in Winterberg, Germany, but may compete in U.S. World Cup luge events in Park City and Lake Placid, which are Olympic qualifiers. Other qualifying World Cups in cross-country and freestyle skiing run until mid-January in Canada, the U.S., Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. Neutral status is approved under IOC guidance for athletes who have not publicly supported the invasion or have ties to military or state agencies.

FIS said it would demand strict neutrality toward Russia and Belarus. CAS judges ruled that Russian and Belarusian athletes meeting FIS eligibility standards should be allowed to enter international events, citing FIS statutes requiring political neutrality and protection from discrimination. Some Russian and Belarusian athletes competed at the Paris Summer Games without national identity, flag, anthem, or team colors, with both countries banned from team sports. The IOC must assess neutral status before inviting athletes to the Milan Cortina Games, and last week invited two Russian figure skaters and one Belarusian..