Nine Russian bobsled and skeleton athletes have been cleared to compete as Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) by the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation (IBSF).
This decision, which was announced on Friday, allows two bobsledders, Liubov Chernykh and Sofiia Stepushkina, and seven skeleton racers – Viktoriia Fettel, Alena Frolova, Polina Kniazeva, Daniil Romanov, Vladislav Semenov, Polina Tiurina, and Ermei Zykov – to participate in IBSF events.
Three officials, a medical doctor, and five coaches/technicians also received AIN status.
The IBSF confirmed their eligibility for Women’s Monobob, Women’s Skeleton, and Men’s Skeleton events, following a partial lifting of the ban by its Appeals Tribunal in October.
This move aligns with a wider trend in winter sports, as the International Ski and Snowboard Federation recently authorised AIN status for nine Russian and Belarusian athletes for Milan Cortina Olympics qualifiers.
The Winter Olympics are due to run from February 6-22, with qualifying events taking place over the coming weeks.
The International Olympic Committee further recommended on Thursday that Russian and Belarusian youth athletes compete internationally without restrictions, signalling an easing of sanctions imposed after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Russia has largely been excluded from international sporting events in recent years, particularly in football.
They did not participate in the 2022 World Cup after hosting the previous edition of the tournament in 2018, where they made the quarter-finals before being knocked out by Croatia.
Russia were also absent from last year’s Euros in Germany, as Spain won the tournament for the third time in the 21st century by beating England in the final.
Russian tennis players were also banned from competing at Wimbledon in 2022 in the wake of the nation’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine earlier that year.
The ban was subsequently lifted the following year, allowing major stars such as Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev to compete.
