Individual Neutral Athletes at the 2026 Winter Olympics

Individual Neutral Athletes at the 2026 Winter Olympics were special athletes from Russia and Belarus who were allowed to compete, even though their countries were not. This happened because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. These athletes were called AIN, short for the French phrase athlètes individuels neutres, which means "individual neutral athletes".

They competed under special rules set by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). They could not use their country’s flag or anthem. Instead, they had a special teal flag with an AIN emblem and a unique instrumental anthem. Each athlete had to be carefully checked and approved by leaders in their sport and a special IOC panel before they could compete.

Because they were individual athletes, they could not take part in team events. They also did not march in the opening ceremony and did not receive official rankings in the medal tables. Even though the name says “Athlete”, the IOC often talked about them in the plural, as “Athletes”.

Background

Timeline

Further information: International sporting sanctions during the Russian invasion of Ukraine

In December 2024, the International Skating Union said that athletes from Belarus and Russia could take part in the 2026 Winter Olympics. If they qualified, they would compete as Individual Neutral Athletes, just like they did at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. At the 2024 Summer Olympics, 15 Russian athletes and 17 Belarusian athletes competed this way.

Also in December 2024, the International Ski Mountaineering Federation allowed five Russian ski mountaineers to compete as individual neutral athletes in the qualifiers for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The IOC announced in September 2025 that Individual Neutral Athletes would compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics under the same rules as the 2024 Summer Olympics. This included the same eligibility rules, flag, anthem, and the same restriction that stopped them from competing in team events.

Medalists

Further information: 2026 Winter Olympics medal table and List of 2026 Winter Olympics medal winners

Medal	Name	Country	Sport	Event	Date
Silver	Nikita Filippov	Russia	Ski mountaineering	Men's sprint	19 February

Competitors

Twenty athletes from two countries competed under the name "Individual Neutral Athletes" at the Games.

Belarus sent seven athletes, and Russia sent thirteen athletes.

Sport	Men		Women		Total
Sport	Belarus	Russia	Belarus	Russia	Total
Alpine skiing	0	1	1	1	3
Cross-country skiing	0	1	1	1	3
Figure skating	0	1	1	1	3
Freestyle skiing	0	0	3	0	3
Luge	0	1	0	1	2
Short-track speed skating	0	1	0	1	2
Ski mountaineering	0	1	0	0	1
Speed skating	0	0	1	2	3
Total	0	6	7	7	20

Alpine skiing

Main articles: Alpine skiing at the 2026 Winter Olympics and Alpine skiing at the 2026 Winter Olympics – Qualification

Three athletes, two girls and one boy, qualified to compete in alpine skiing as Individual Neutral Athletes. They earned their spots using the basic rules for getting into the competition.

Athlete	From	Event	Run 1		Run 2		Total
Athlete	From	Event	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Simon Efimov	Russia	Men's slalom	DNF
Julia Pleshkova		Women's downhill	—N/a				1:39.69	22
Julia Pleshkova		Women's super-G	—N/a				1:26.32	19
Maria Shkanova	Belarus	Women's slalom	51.86	43	56.08	37	1:47.94	37

Cross-country skiing

Main articles: Cross-country skiing at the 2026 Winter Olympics and Cross-country skiing at the 2026 Winter Olympics – Qualification

After the 2025–26 FIS Cross-Country World Cup ended in December 2025, two female athletes and one male athlete qualified to compete as Individual Neutral Athletes.

Athlete	From	Event	Classical		Freestyle		Final
Athlete	From	Event	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Deficit	Rank
Savelii Korostelev	Russia	Men's 10 km freestyle	—N/a				21:42.3	+1:06.1	15
		Men's 20 km skiathlon	23:24.7	6	22:23.6	4	46:14.6	+3.6	4
		Men's 50 km classical	—N/a				2:10:23.1	+3:38.3	5
Hanna Karaliova	Belarus	Women's 10 km freestyle	—N/a				25:59.3	+3:10.1	45
Hanna Karaliova	Belarus	Women's 20 km skiathlon	30:00.5	35	29:12.9	34	59:45.6	+6:00.4	34
Dariya Nepryaeva	Russia	Women's 10 km freestyle	—N/a				24:45.0	+1:55.8	21
		Women's 20 km skiathlon	29:01.4	20	28:07.7	19	57:41.3	+3:56.1	17
		Women's 50 km classical	—N/a				Disqualified

Athlete	From	Event	Qualification		Quarterfinal		Semifinal		Final	Rank
Athlete	From	Event	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Savelii Korostelev	Russia	Men's sprint	3:19.88	35	Did not advance
Hanna Karaliova	Belarus	Women's sprint	3:57.25	48
Dariya Nepryaeva	Russia	Women's sprint	3:51.60	36

Figure skating

Main articles: Figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics and Figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics – Qualification

One Individual Neutral Athlete qualified to compete in men's singles, and two qualified in women's singles at the ISU Skate to Milano Figure Skating Qualifier 2025 held in Beijing, China.

Athlete	From	Event	SP		FP		Total
Athlete	From	Event	Points	Rank	Points	Rank	Points	Rank
Petr Gumennik	Russia	Men's singles	86.72	12 Q	184.49	4	271.21	6
Adeliia Petrosian	Russia	Women's singles	72.89	5 Q	141.64	5	214.53	6
Viktoriia Safonova	Belarus	Women's singles	54.57	26	Did not advance

Freestyle skiing

Main articles: Freestyle skiing at the 2026 Winter Olympics and Freestyle skiing at the 2026 Winter Olympics – Qualification

Athlete	From	Event	Qualification					Final
			Jump 1		Jump 2	Best	Rank	Final 1				Final 2
			Points	Rank	Points	Points	Rank	Jump 1	Jump 2	Best	Rank	Points	Rank
Anastasiya Andryianava	Belarus	Women's aerials	74.02	15	70.39	74.02	16	Did not advance
Anna Derugo			58.90	18	71.63	71.63	17	Did not advance
Hanna Huskova			88.29	7	82.73	88.29	8 Q	86.44	100.29	100.29	8	Did not advance

Luge

Main articles: Luge at the 2026 Winter Olympics and Luge at the 2026 Winter Olympics – Qualification

Athlete	From	Event	Run 1		Run 2		Run 3		Run 4		Total
Athlete	From	Event	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Pavel Repilov	Russia	Men's singles	53.861	17	53.847	15	53.692	16	53.563	11	3:34.963	14
Daria Olesik	Russia	Women's singles	53.289	13	53.362	15	53.348	14	53.211	14	3:33.210	13

Short-track speed skating

Main articles: Short-track speed skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics and Short-track speed skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics – Qualification

Two short-track speed skaters, one male and one female, qualified to compete as Individual Neutral Athletes after the 2025–26 ISU Short Track World Tour ended.

Athlete	From	Event	Heat		Quarterfinal		Semifinal		Final
Athlete	From	Event	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Ivan Posashkov	Russia	Men's 1000 m	PEN		Did not advance
Ivan Posashkov		Men's 1500 m	—N/a		2:19.117	5	Did not advance
Alena Krylova		Women's 500 m	1:06.997	4	Did not advance
Alena Krylova		Women's 1000 m	1:28.495	3 q	2:31.857	4 ADV	2:10.169	5 QB	1:31.702	9

Ski mountaineering

Main articles: Ski mountaineering at the 2026 Winter Olympics and Ski mountaineering at the 2026 Winter Olympics – Qualification

One male ski mountaineer qualified to compete as an Individual Neutral Athlete during the 2025 ISMF World Championships.

Athlete	From	Event	Heat		Semifinal		Final
Athlete	From	Event	Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Nikita Filippov	Russia	Men's sprint	2:39.84	2 Q	2:34.53	2 Q	2:35.55

Speed skating

Main articles: Speed skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics and Speed skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics – Qualification

Three female speed skaters qualified to compete as Individual Neutral Athletes because of their strong performances at the 2025–26 ISU Speed Skating World Cup.

Mass start

Athlete	From	Event	Race
Athlete	From	Event	Time	Rank
Kseniia Korzhova	Russia	Women's 3000 m	4:05.84	12
Maryna Zuyeva	Belarus	Women's 3000 m	4:07.09	15
Maryna Zuyeva	Belarus	Women's 5000 m	6:57.70	6

Athlete	From	Event	Semifinal			Final
Athlete	From	Event	Points	Time	Rank	Points	Time	Rank
Anastasiia Semenova	Russia	Women's	1	8:45.91	9	Did not advance
Maryna Zuyeva	Belarus	Women's	0	8:39.63	11	Did not advance