For nearly four years, Russian athletes have been barred from most international sporting stages after the 2022 war in Ukraine. So, the Paris Olympics saw virtually no Russian participation, but things are different for the upcoming Winter Olympics.

Now Russia isn’t making a full return – its few athletes will still be banned from competing with the Russian flag and anthem as they have been since the Sochi Olympics. Yet under these limits, a small door remains open for individual athletes who meet the IOC’s strict neutrality conditions.

Just recently, the International Olympic Committee officially approved Ivan Posashkov, 21, and Alena Krylova, 23, both short track speed skaters, to compete at the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics as “Individual Neutral Athletes.”

This means they will race without national colors or symbols or participating in the opening ceremony when the Games begin on February 6.

Krylova, competing in the 500m is the reigning Russian champion in the 500m and 1,000 m events. Posashkov, competing in the 1000m, has recently won stages of the Russian Cup relay final. Their achievements on the ice are impressive, but what sets them apart is that they passed the IOC’s rigorous neutral athlete review process, which is mandatory for the few Russian athletes who are allowed to compete.

To compete as neutral athletes, the IOC requires that athletes satisfy several strict conditions, first checked by their sport’s governing body and then by three IOC members.

They must show that they did not actively support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, have no ties to the Russian military or state security agencies, and meet all Olympic qualification and anti-doping requirements, just like any other athlete. Posashkov and Krylova cleared each of these checks, allowing the IOC to formally approve them to compete.

Moreover, both athletes participated in 2025 World Tour events, which served as part of the Olympic qualifying system for short track speed skating. Posashkov competed in the 1,000 m and 1,500 m races, while Krylova raced in the 500 m and 1,000 m.

But it’s not just speed skating; the qualifying rules for all sports at the Winter Olympics were tightly controlled.

Two figure skaters make it to the Winter Olympics

A very limited number of “Individual Neutral Athletes” (AIN) from Russia and Belarus were allowed to compete in the specific Olympic qualifying events in figure skating, short track, and speed skating.

In figure skating, the ISU permitted the entry of one competitor per discipline, who would have to qualify for an Olympic berth themself. However, Russia’s proposed pairs and ice dance teams did not pass the ISU’s neutrality screening.

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As no alternate teams could be proposed, it meant that Russia was left with zero pairs and ice dance entries at the Olympic qualifying event in Beijing in September 2025.

Amongst the singles skaters, Adeliia Petrosian and Petr Gumennik were approved to compete as neutral athletes and successfully qualified in Beijing. Petrosian is a three-time Russian national champion and a three-time Russian Grand Prix Final champion, while Gumennik is the 2026 Russian National Champion and won bronze at the 2020 Rostelecom Cup.

Vladislav Dikidzhi, the 2025 Russian national champion and 2024 Russian national silver medalist, was announced as a reserve for the men’s singles qualifier.

Similarly, Alina Gorbacheva, bronze medalist at the 2025 Russian nationals and 2023 Russian junior national champion, was also listed as a reserve for the women’s qualifier. Neither skater competed, but will serve as first alternates should either Petrosian or Gummenik withdraw for any reason.

This neutrality check guaranteed that all athletes competing at the Winter Olympics were truly eligible and neutral, and that participation was limited to those who had been cleared by both the ISU and the IOC.