Next February, Russian teams are still unable to participate in Milan-Cortina Olympics
The International Olympic Committee said on Tuesday that Russian teams, including the country's strong hockey side, were banned from participating in the Milan-Kortina Olympics next February after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The International Olympic Committee is responding to Russian reports that hockey officials from the country held talks with the International Hockey Federation on participation in the Olympics.
“The recommendations from the IOC Executive Committee on the athlete team of Russian passports proposed in March 2023,” the International Olympic Committee said.
“This is based on the fact that by definition, a group of individual neutral athletes cannot be considered a team. We note that IIHF has confirmed that it will follow this recommendation.
A handful of Russian and Belarusian athletes were allowed to participate in the 2024 Olympics last summer after the IOC's strict scrutiny.
They have no Russian or Belarusian flags and national anthem to compete. Instead, they become neutral athletes. All Russian teams are banned. Belarus has served as the stage of invasion.
The International Skating League recently approved four Russian figure skaters who played singles for men and women to try to qualify as neutral athletes in the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Russian hockey players won gold at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics in South Korea and won gold in Beijing four years later.
The International Olympic Committee suspended the Russian Olympic Committee in October 2023 in recognition of the Regional Olympic Committees in Ukraine's Russian-occupied region – Luhanske, Donetsk, Hosen and Zaporizhiya.
“this [October 2023] Recommendations were made after consultations with relevant International Federations and other Olympic stakeholders. ”
“This position reflects the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee as it annexes regional sports organizations on the territory of the Ukrainian National Olympic Committee.”
“This action constitutes a violation of the Olympic Charter because it violates the territorial integrity of the Ukrainian NOC, as the International Olympic Committee recognizes under the Olympic Charter,” the Olympic Games said.
The Italian Olympic Games will be held from February 6 to 22.
