3 Russian, 6 Belarusian skiers given chance to qualify for Olympics

3 Russian, 6 Belarusian skiers given chance to qualify for Olympics

3 Russian, 6 Belarusian skiers given chance to qualify for Olympics

Three Russian and six Belarusian skiers have been granted permission to take part in Olympic qualifying events ahead of next year's Games, according to a list published by the International Ski Federation .

FIS had announced in October that it was maintaining a ban on athletes from the two countries ahead of the Milan-Cortina Games from February 6-22.

But a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport last week overturned the ban, paving the way for Russians and Belarusians to try to qualify for skiing events, which make up more than half of the Winter Games programme.

Competitors in skiing and snowboarding from the two countries had been banned from FIS events since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

But now, Belarusian Hanna Huskova, an Olympic gold medallist in freestyle skiing in 2018, and Russian Anastasia Tatalina, a 2021 world champion in the same discipline, can both now try to qualify for the Games.

The list of athletes from the two countries granted permission to compete under a neutral banner is likely to lengthen.

"Over the course of the upcoming days and weeks, as more eligibility reviews are conducted and more decisions are made, FIS will publish updated versions of the AIN list," FIS said in a short statement referring to athletes competing under a neutral banner.

The International Olympic Committee had announced in September that athletes from Russia and Belarus would be allowed to compete at the Olympics under a neutral banner if they meet strict conditions.

Those include competing under a neutral flag, taking part only in individual events and undergoing checks to prove that they did not actively support the war in Ukraine or have any links with the army.

The same conditions applied to the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics at which 15 Russians and 17 Belarusians competed, winning a combined five medals.

So far, two Russian figure skaters and one Belarusian have been given the green light to compete at the Olympics under a neutral flag.

cfe/bc/nr

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