Skating body drops rule barring Russian ‘neutral’ athletes from media at Olympics

By: The Associated Press Posted: 7:23 AM CST Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The International Skating Union has scrapped a rule which aimed to prevent Russian skaters from speaking with the media or appearing at news conferences when they compete as neutral athletes at the Milan Cortina Olympics.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/01/2026 (248 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When it allowed some Russians and Belarusians to qualify as “individual neutral athletes” in 2024, the ISU issued rules saying those athletes and their support staff would not be allowed to give interviews, appear at news conferences or go through the media zone at qualifying events or the Winter Olympics.

In response to questions from The Associated Press about how that would be enforced, the ISU sent the AP an amended version of the rules for neutral athletes on Thursday.

FILE - Adeliia Petrosian of Russia, competing as a neutral athlete, performs during the women's free skating program at the ISU Skate to Milano figure skating qualifier, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Beijing, China. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A., File)

The document now states the media restrictions apply only to qualifying events, which the ISU ran. It no longer mentions the Olympics, which are overseen by the International Olympic Committee.

The IOC has declared nine athletes from Russia and three from its ally Belarus to be eligible for the Olympics so far. Of the total, eight athletes compete in skating events such as figure skating or speedskating.

They include Russian figure skater Adeliia Petrosian, who is widely seen as a contender for the women’s gold medal.

The neutral athletes do not formally represent their country. They cannot wear any Russian symbols or team uniforms and the Russian anthem won’t be played if they win a gold medal. A similar system was used at the Summer Olympics in Paris in 2024.