Individual Neutral Athletes at the 2026 Winter Olympics

Individual Neutral Athletes at the 2026 Winter Olympics
The final version of the AIN flag assigned by the IOC on 19 March 2024
IOC code	AIN
NOC	Athlètes Individuels Neutres
in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy 6 February 2026 (2026-02-06) – 22 February 2026 (2026-02-22)
Competitors	20 (6 men and 14 women) in 8 sports
Flag bearer	N/A (not participating in Parade of Nations)
Medals	Gold 0 Silver 0 Bronze 0 Total 0
Winter Olympics appearances (overview)
2014 2018 2022 2026
Other related appearances
Soviet Union (1956–1988)   Unified Team (1992)   Russia (1994–2014)   Olympic Athletes from Russia (2018)   ROC (2022)   Belarus (1994–2022)

Individual Neutral Athletes ^[a] is the name used to represent approved individual Russian and Belarusian athletes at the 2026 Winter Olympics, after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) banned those nations' previous designations due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 that continued into the duration of the games. The IOC country code is AIN, from the French athlètes individuels neutres. ^[1]

The delegation will compete under the same conditions as for the 2024 Summer Olympics. It was banned from using the Olympic flag and Olympic anthem, which was the usual custom for neutral designated athletes in previous games. They instead used a teal flag depicting a circular AIN emblem and a one-off instrumental anthem, both assigned by the IOC. ^{[2] [3] [4]} Individual neutral athletes have to be first background checked and then approved by each sport's international federation, and then by a special panel created by the IOC. ^[5] Due to the AIN participating as a neutral team under certain conditions, the delegation will not march the parade of nations during the opening ceremony and will not receive an official ranking in the medal tables. ^[3]

While the flag uses the singular wording "Individual Neutral Athlete", the IOC uses the plural wording "Individual Neutral Athletes" in prose. ^[6]

Background

The "draft" emblem of the AIN flag assigned by the IOC on 8 December 2023. The provisional flag was proposed to be white with the emblem.

Timeline

See also: Individual Neutral Athletes at the 2024 Summer Olympics § Timeline

In December 2024, the International Skating Union announced that athletes from Belarus and Russia would be allowed to participate in events at the 2026 Winter Olympics; if qualified, they would compete under the Individual Neutral Athlete banner, as was done at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. ^[8] At the 2024 Summer Olympics, 15 Russian athletes and 17 Belarusian athletes competed as individual neutral athletes. ^[9]

In the same month, the International Ski Mountaineering Federation announced that five Russian ski mountaineers would be allowed to compete as individual neutral athletes in the 2026 Winter Olympics qualifiers. ^[10]

The IOC announced in September 2025 that Individual Neutral Athletes will compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics under the same rules as for the 2024 Summer Olympics, including the same eligibility requirements, teal flag, and anthem. ^[3]

Competitors

The following is the list of number of competitors participating at the Games per sport/discipline.

AIN team had 20 competitors from the following nations:

1. Belarus – 7 competitors
2. Russia – 13 competitors ^[11]

The following is a list of the number of competitors representing the Individual Neutral Athletes that participated at the Games:

Sport	Men		Women		Total
	Belarus	Russia	Belarus	Russia
Alpine skiing	0	1	1	1	3
Cross-country skiing	0	1	1	1	3
Figure skating	0	1	1	1	3
Freestyle skiing	0	0	3	0	3
Luge	0	1	0	1	2
Short-track speed skating	0	1	0	1	2
Ski mountaineering	0	1	0	0	1
Speed skating	0	0	1	2	3
Total	0	6	7	7	20

Alpine skiing

Main articles: Alpine skiing at the 2026 Winter Olympics and Alpine skiing at the 2026 Winter Olympics – Qualification

The Individual Neutral Athletes qualified two female and one male alpine skier through the basic quota. ^[12]

Athlete	From	Event	Final
			Time	Deficit	Rank
	Belarus	Women's
Semyon Yefimov	Russia	Men's
Julia Pleshkova	Russia	Women's

Cross-country skiing

Main articles: Cross-country skiing at the 2026 Winter Olympics and Cross-country skiing at the 2026 Winter Olympics – Qualification

Following the completion of the 2025–26 FIS Cross-Country World Cup in the first World Cup period (28 November – 14 December 2025), the Individual Neutral Athletes qualified further two female and one male athlete. ^{[13] [14]}

Athlete	From	Event	Final
			Time	Deficit	Rank
Hanna Karaliova	Belarus	Women's
Savelii Korostelev	Russia	Men's
Dariya Nepryaeva	Russia	Women's

Figure skating

Main articles: Figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics and Figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics – Qualification

The Individual Neutral Athletes earned one quota in men's singles and two quota in women's singles at the ISU Skate to Milano Figure Skating Qualifier 2025 in Beijing, China. ^{[15] [16] [17]}

Athlete	From	Event	SP/SD		FP/FD		Total
			Points	Rank	Points	Rank	Points	Rank
Petr Gumennik	Russia	Men's singles
Adeliia Petrosian		Women's singles
Viktoriia Safonova	Belarus

Short-track speed skating

Main articles: Short-track speed skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics and Short-track speed skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics – Qualification

The Individual Neutral Athletes qualified two short-track speed skaters (one per gender) after the conclusion of the 2025–26 ISU Short Track World Tour. ^[18]

Athlete	From	Event	Heat		Quarterfinal		Semifinal		Final
			Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Ivan Posashkov	Russia	Men's 1000 m
		Men's 1500 m	—N/a
Alena Krylova	Russia	Women's 500 m
		Women's 1000 m

Ski mountaineering

Main articles: Ski mountaineering at the 2026 Winter Olympics and Ski mountaineering at the 2026 Winter Olympics – Qualification

The Individual Neutral Athletes qualified one male ski mountaineer through the 2025 ISMF World Championships. ^{[19] [20]}

Athlete	From	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
			Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Nikita Filippov	Russia	Men's sprint

Speed skating

Main articles: Speed skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics and Speed skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics – Qualification

The Individual Neutral Athletes qualified three female speed skaters through performances at the 2025-26 ISU Speed Skating World Cup. ^[21]

• Kseniya Korzhova
• Anastasiya Semyonova

See also

• Individual Neutral Athletes at the 2024 Summer Olympics

Notes

1. Russian: Индивидуальные нейтральные спортсмены, romanized: Individual'nyye neytral'nyye sportsmeny; Belarusian: Індывідуальныя нейтральныя спартсмены, romanized: Indyviduaĺnyja niejtraĺnyja spartsmieny; French: Athlètes Individuels Neutres, AIN

References

1. "La commission exécutive du CIO admet les athlètes individuels neutres aux Jeux Olympiques de Paris 2024 et impose des conditions d'admission strictes". Olympics.com (in French). 8 December 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
2. Carpenter, Les (20 March 2024). "Panel including Pau Gasol will decide Olympic eligibility for Russians". Washington Post. Retrieved 28 March 2024.
3. "Individual Neutral Athletes to compete at Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games under same conditions as for Paris 2024". International Olympic Committee . 19 September 2025. Archived from the original on 13 January 2026.
4. "The 15 Russian 'neutrals' at the Paris Olympics are politically isolated and rarely in the spotlight". Associated Press News . 4 August 2024.
5. "Russia still banned, but "things change", says Sebastian Coe". 20 December 2023.
6. Individual Neutral Athletes at the Olympic Games Paris 2024
7. Principles of participation for Individual Neutral Athletes olympics.com December 2023
8. Agence France-Presse (20 December 2024). "Russian Skaters Allowed to Compete as Neutrals in 2026 Winter Olympics". The Moscow Times . Retrieved 22 December 2024.
9. Walker-Roberts, James (10 August 2024). "Paris Olympic Games 2024: Will Russian and Belarusian athletes compete? What country is AIN? Can they win medals?". TNT Sports. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
10. Carro, Javier (30 December 2024). "Five Russian athletes authorised to compete internationally". Inside the Games. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
11. "ЦСП опубликовал итоговый список россиян, которые выступят на Олимпиаде". РБК (in Russian). 2026-01-28. Retrieved 2026-01-28.
12. "Alpine Skiing quotas list for Olympic Winter Games 2026". International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS). Retrieved 28 December 2025.
13. "Cross-Country quotas list for Olympic Winter Games 2026". International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS). Retrieved 28 December 2025.
14. Massot, Arthur (15 December 2025). "Lebanon, Colombia or Thailand: these small nations have secured their place at the 2026 Olympic Games". www.nordicmag.info. Nordic Mag. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
15. "ISU Skate to Milano Figure Skating Qualifier 2025: Petr Gumennik wins men's singles by 34 points; Republic of Korea, Mexico, Ukraine, Chinese Taipei secure Olympic quotas". International Olympic Committee (IOC). Retrieved 22 September 2025.
16. Lena Smirnova (20 September 2025). "ISU Skate to Milano Figure Skating Qualifier 2025: Adeliia Petrosian tops women's event while Georgia, Belgium and PR China secure Olympic quotas". International Olympic Committee . Retrieved 20 September 2025.
17. "ISU Skate to Milano Figure Skating Qualifier 2025 preview: Full schedule and how to watch live". Olympics.com . Archived from the original on 20 September 2025. Retrieved 17 September 2025.
18. "Communication No. 2755 XXV Olympic Winter Games 2026 Milano Cortina Qualified quota places Short Track" (PDF). www.isu.org. Lausanne, Switzerland: International Skating Union. 10 December 2025. Retrieved 10 December 2025.
19. "Olympic Mixed relay ranking list" (PDF). ismf-ski.org. International Ski Mountaineering Federation (ISMF). Retrieved 8 April 2025.
20. "Olympic Sprint Ranking List" (PDF). ismf-ski.org. International Ski Mountaineering Federation (ISMF). Retrieved 14 April 2025.
21. "Communication No. 2758 XXV Olympic Winter Games 2026 Milano Cortina Entries Speed Skating" (PDF). www.isu.org. Lausanne, Switzerland: International Skating Union (ISU). 19 December 2025. Retrieved 22 December 2025.