Cold question: when will Russia be allowed to participate in winter sports

For Russian winter sports athletes, perhaps the most important week after the 2026 Olympics is coming. In the coming days, congresses will be held by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) and the International Skating Union (ISU), where leadership elections will be held and issues of admission of our athletes can be discussed. No one has promised decisions on the return of the flag and anthem yet, but the results of these events can show how close Russia's full-fledged return to the international arena is.

Ski types

I really want to hear the good news after the FIS meeting, because this organization is responsible for six Olympic sports out of 15 at once: cross-country skiing, ski jumping, cross-country skiing, freestyle skiing, snowboarding, and alpine skiing. The Congress of the International Federation is held from June 8 to 11.

Dmitry Svishchev, the head of the newly established Russian Ski and Snowboard Federation, said that there was no discussion of our full-fledged admission on the meeting's agenda. The main topic of the congress is the election of the FIS President.

The current head of the organization, Swede Johan Elias, has repeatedly supported the return of Russians. But we still didn't have enough votes to vote for admission. As a result, the right to speak in a neutral status was obtained in the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Nevertheless, many in Russia believe that Eliash's re—election for a new term is optimal for us at the moment. Svishchev also called the Swede an acceptable candidate.

However, not all big ski players are ready to see Elias as their head for another four years. The federations of Norway, the USA, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Spain and Canada opposed the re-election, sending a collective statement to the FIS in May. Georgia unexpectedly nominated Johan for the election because Sweden and the United Kingdom, whose citizenship he holds, refused to support him.

The British, having refused Elias, relied on the CEO of their ski association, Victoria Gosling. She is considered the main rival of the Swede at the current congress. If she wins, Gosling will become the first female president in FIS history. The British woman's candidacy looks questionable in terms of our return, although Victoria has not publicly spoken about Russia. Nevertheless, the Scandinavian federations are ready to vote for her, which gives some understanding of Gosling's position on this issue. Another opponent of Elias will be Alexander Ospelt, a member of the FIS council, nominated from Liechtenstein, but his chances of winning look low.

The Russian delegation headed by Elena Vyalbe, who led the Russian Ski Racing Federation for many years and is now a member of the Presidium of the United Federation of Ski Sports and Snowboarding, went to the congress in Belgrade.

Figure skating and speed skating sports

The next congress will be held by the ISU, which manages three Olympic sports: figure skating, speed skating and short track. The event will take place from 10 to 12 June in Tenerife.

There will be no such fierce struggle for the post of head of an organization like FIS, because the current president, Jae-yel Kim, remained the only candidate. The congress will also hold elections for two vice presidents, 10 ISU Board members, and heads of other departments.

It is expected that, in addition to the planned issues (financial reports and updating technical regulations), the return of Russian athletes to the international arena should be discussed in Spain.

At the moment, our figure skaters, speed skaters and short-track athletes cannot compete under the auspices of the ISU, even in a neutral status. A year and a half ago, the organization granted admission to Russians only to participate in qualifying competitions for the Olympics. As a result, we had two representatives in each skating sport at the Games, but after the competition in Italy, the barrier was closed again.

According to Izvestia, there are high chances that we will receive admission of Russian juniors under a neutral flag at the upcoming congress. As for adult athletes, this issue may not be on the agenda of the meeting. The leaders of the Russian skating federations understand the situation and are even preparing to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

"We are not satisfied with the format that is being proposed to us, and if no decision is made, we will just go to CAS," Nikolai Gulyaev, president of the Russian Skating Union, explained to TASS. — The issue of admission will definitely not be resolved at the congress.: This is the competence of the ISU Council. A new board will be elected, and I really hope that this issue will be included in the council's agenda. I think that the first council will be held immediately after the end of the congress. But I'm a realist, so I don't think they'll make such an important decision so quickly.

Earlier this week, participants of the Congress of the International Luge Federation gathered in Berchtesgaden, Germany. The election of the heads of the organization was not on the agenda of the meeting. Since 2020, the President of FIL has been Einars Fogelis from Latvia, where our return is not welcome. A year ago, at a congress in Tampere, Finland, the federation extended sanctions for Russians by a majority vote, and Fogelis called the decisions taken a reflection of collective responsibility for ensuring safe and fair competition. Our luge athletes sought the right to perform in a neutral status through the CAC. Most likely, they will also have to fight in the courts for the return of the flag.

On June 11, a new president of the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation will be elected in Salzburg. The current head of the IBSF, Ivo Ferriani, has announced that he will not stand as a candidate. There are four candidates for the post: Martins Dambergs (Latvia), Heike Groeswang (Germany), Ander Mirambel (Spain) and Nelson Christian Stokes (Jamaica).

Anatoly Pegov, President of the Russian Bobsleigh Federation, told SE that he expects more positive news about admission from the IOC session, which will be held on June 23-24. Last season, our bobsledders and skeleton athletes competed in a neutral status, but only in individual disciplines. Now these statuses have expired, and if the admission situation does not change, athletes will have to apply again and pay money for their consideration.

An online meeting of the International Ski Mountaineering Federation is scheduled to take place in June. A year and a half ago, this organization was the first of the winter ones to admit Russians in a neutral status. Ski mountaineering, thanks to Nikita Filippov's silver, became our most successful sport at the Olympics in Italy. Now Filippov believes that the ISMF will once again be the fastest and will return the flag and anthem to our athletes.

In three Olympic winter sports, we were not allowed even in neutral status: hockey, curling and biathlon. Congresses in the respective federations, where this issue may somehow move forward, are scheduled for September.