Russian figure skaters secure Winter Olympics spots

The 2026 Winter Olympics begins on 6 February 2026

Russian figure skaters Adeliia Petrosian and Viktoriia Safonova have secured places at next year's Winter Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina but will have to compete as Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs).

Petrosian, 18, won a qualifying event in Beijing while Safonova moved up from seventh to fourth place with a strong performance to earn her place in Italy.

AINs - athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport - have been banned from many sports since the war against Ukraine began in 2022, including cross-country skiing and biathlon.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed on Friday that AINs would be able to compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics under the same strict conditions they did at last year's Paris Games.

An IOC statement said: "The IOC executive board considered the experience of the Olympic Games in Paris, during which 32 athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport from 10 different sports took part, without any incident on or off the field of play."

The IOC also ruled teams of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport will not be considered and individual athletes who actively support the war will not be eligible to be entered or compete.

AINs will also not participate in the opening ceremony and their medals will not feature on the medal table.

Athletes from both countries competed at the Paris Olympics last year, when 15 neutral Russians and 17 neutral Belarusians accepted an Olympic invitation.