IOC MOVES TOWARD NEUTRALS’ RETURN

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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is preparing the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to international winter sports events ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina. According to IOC Sports Director Kit McConnell, this process is guided by a principle established in early 2023: athletes should not be punished for the actions of their governments.

Neu­tral Sta­tus and Strict Pro­to­cols
To uphold this prin­ci­ple, the IOC devel­oped a detailed pro­to­col allow­ing ath­letes from Rus­sia and Belarus to com­pete as neu­trals. This includes strict anti-dop­ing com­pli­ance and a ver­i­fied neu­tral status—requirements already applied in sum­mer sports, includ­ing the upcom­ing Paris 2024 Olympics. McConnell empha­sized that these mea­sures have proven effec­tive, with neu­tral ath­letes already com­pet­ing suc­cess­ful­ly in sev­er­al dis­ci­plines.

Win­ter Dis­ci­plines Next in Line
The IOC is now extend­ing this approach to win­ter sports. “Dis­cus­sions are ongo­ing, but deci­sions have already been made regard­ing ski moun­taineer­ing,” McConnell said. He added that returns are also planned in speed skat­ing, fig­ure skat­ing, and short track, with nego­ti­a­tions con­tin­u­ing across oth­er win­ter sports fed­er­a­tions.

Dia­logue, Not Impo­si­tion
When asked whether the IOC would respect the deci­sions of fed­er­a­tions that oppose the return of Russ­ian and Belaru­sian ath­letes, McConnell reit­er­at­ed the orga­ni­za­tion’s com­mit­ment to dia­logue and trans­paren­cy. He expressed con­fi­dence in the estab­lished pro­to­cols and said the IOC would con­tin­ue work­ing with ath­letes, inter­na­tion­al fed­er­a­tions, and nation­al Olympic com­mit­tees to ensure a fair and inclu­sive process.

Not Every­one Is On Board
While the IOC advances its rein­te­gra­tion strat­e­gy, resis­tance remains. In Jan­u­ary, the Inter­na­tion­al Ski Fed­er­a­tion (FIS) con­firmed it would not allow Russ­ian ath­letes to com­pete in its events through­out 2025. This indi­cates that the path to full rein­te­gra­tion will like­ly vary from sport to sport.