Report: Russian teams remain banned from competing at 2026 Olympics, IOC says

Russian teams will remain banned from the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milano Cortina as part of sanctions imposed following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, according to a report from Reuters on Tuesday.

The announcement came as a response to reports that Russian hockey officials underwent talks with the international ice hockey federation regarding Olympic participation.

“The IOC Executive Board recommendation from March 2023 with regard to teams of athletes with a Russian passport remains in place,” the IOC said in a statement to Reuters. “It is based on the fact that, by definition, a group of Individual Neutral Athletes cannot be considered a team. We take note that the IIHF has confirmed that it will follow this recommendation.”

Russia’s ice hockey team last competed in an IIHF-sanctioned event at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Both the men’s and women’s teams were called “Russian Olympic Committee” for sanctioning reasons.

The Russian men’s ice hockey team won gold at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics and silver in 2022 at Beijing.

A small group of Russian athletes were permitted to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics as neutral athletes after undergoing a diligent vetting process.

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