Nordic skiing: the FIS opens the door to Russian and Belarusian athletes
On Tuesday, following the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS ) issued a press release. Noting the CAS ruling, the FIS invites the athletes concerned, who are eligible to apply for neutral independent athlete (NIA) status, to send an email to [email protected].
The FIS policy on AINs is then detailed. Athletes may only take part in competitions on the FIS calendar in an individual and neutral capacity,” it begins. This means that they cannot take part in competitions based on a team ranking.”
Participation in competitions as an AIN is conditional on strict compliance with neutrality towards the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus since the start of the war in Ukraine,” it goes on to say. This requirement can be broken down as follows:
- No voluntary link with the Russian or Belarusian army or any other national security organisation
- No communication associated with Russia or Belarus
- No support for the war in Ukraine
Athletes must comply with all anti-doping requirements applicable to them, in particular those set out in the FIS Anti-Doping Rules. During the period of ineligibility of the Russian and Belarus athletes, the FIS anti-doping activities continued and remained operational”.
Applications will be reviewed by the FIS NIA Eligibility Commission , which is made up of the FIS General Secretary, an independent sports integrity expert and a representative of the FIS administration. The FIS will then publish on its website the list of athletes who have been granted NIA status.
- The FIS does not authorise the participation of Russians and Belarus under a neutral banner at the Milan/Cortina 2026 Games
- The Russian Federation and twelve athletes, including cross-country runner Saveliy Korostelev and jumper Danil Sadreev, are appealing to CAS against their bans from taking part in the 2026 Olympics.
- New development: CAS rules that neutral Russian and Belarusian athletes must be allowed to try to qualify for the 2026 Games
