Why is Russia called AIN at the 2026 Winter Olympics?

The 2026 Winter Olympics are upon us, a chance for the world to unite as some of the greatest athletes on the planet tackle events, disciplines, and sports us mere mortals could not even dream of attempting.

However, the Olympics do not take place in a vacuum.

The world is full of uncertainty, and geopolitical events can overshadow even the best of us. That includes the Winter Olympics, which will be held as unrest looms over the entire planet, and in particular regions of the world.

And the Olympics are not going to be immune. To that end, let’s discuss two nations in particular: Russia and Belarus, and how athletes from those two countries will be participating in the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Why are Belarus and Russia banned from the Olympics?

Two nations, Belarus and Russia, have been banned from participating in the Olympic Games, dating back to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Following the invasion, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced the decision to ban those two nations, an announcement that came just weeks after the conclusion of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Russia was banned for the act of invading Ukraine, while Belarus was banned due to their support of the invasion, and the fact that Belarus has been used as a staging area for some of Russia’s incursions onto Ukraine.

How will athletes from Russia and Belarus participate?

While Russia and Belarus have been banned from participating in the Olympics, individual athletes from those nations can still compete. These athletes will compete as Individual Neutral Athletes (or as Athletes Individuels Neutres, or AIN, in French) at the upcoming Olympics. According to the IOC, this category applies to “athletes with Belarusian or Russian passports who have been confirmed as eligible and invited to compete.”

There are several restrictions that you should know.

First off, teams of athletes with a Russian or a Belarusian passport “will not be considered.” As we will discuss in a moment, that means some prominent athletes will be unable to participate in the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The IOC will also examine each individual athlete before they are allowed to participate regarding their support — material or otherwise — for the war in Ukraine. According to the IOC, “[a]thletes who actively support the war will not be eligible to be entered or compete. Support personnel who actively support the war will not be entered.” In addition, “[a]thletes who are contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies will not be eligible to be entered or to compete. Support personnel who are contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies will not be entered.”

As was the case for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, a Panel has been established to “evaluate the eligibility of each athlete who obtains, or who could obtain, a qualification place for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, and that of their support personnel.”

Athletes who participate in the 2026 Winter Olympics “will not participate in the parade of delegations (teams) during the Opening Ceremony, since they are individual athletes. But an opportunity will be provided for them to experience the event.” AINs may be permitted to participate in the Closing Ceremony, however, “taking into consideration that it is not teams that take part in the Closing Ceremony, but all the athletes jointly together.”

There is also a specific flag for AIN athletes, as well as an anthem:

Any AIN who wins a medal will see the AIN flag raised, and if an AIN athlete wins a gold medal, the AIN anthem will be played.

Will any athletes from Russia or Belarus be unable to compete?

As noted above, individual athletes from Russia and Belarus can compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics as AINs, under the AIN flag.

But teams cannot.

That means Russia, for example, cannot field a hockey team at the 2026 Winter Olympics. The NHL previously announced that its players would be able to participate in the 2026 Winter Games for the first time since the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia. Normally that would mean players such as Nikita Kucherov, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Alex Ovechkin, Artemi Panarin, and more would be lacing up the skates for Team Russia. But with the IOC banning teams from Russia and Belarus from competing, they will be watching the Games along with the rest of us.

What happened to the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC)?

Long-time fans of the Olympics might be wondering: What happened to the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC)?

After all, Russia has been banned from the Olympics before. Following a doping scandal in the wake of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, the IOC in 2017 banned Russia from competing in the Winter Olympics. However, the IOC eventually changed course somewhat, allowing Russian athletes to compete in the 2018 Winter Olympics under the title of Olympic Athlete from Russia (OAR). But the ROC remained banned.

Those athletes wore neutral uniforms with the Olympic flag, and any gold medal winners — such as Alina Zagitova in figure skating or the men’s hockey team — heard the Olympic anthem during their ceremony:

After all OAR athletes were found to have passed their doping tests, the IOC decided to reinstate the ROC. That ban, however, returned following the invasion of Ukraine. The IOC made this decision because the ROC announced that it would include “regional sports organizations which are under the authority of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Ukraine (namely Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia).”

According to the IOC, that announcement amounted to a “breach of the Olympic Charter because it violates the territorial integrity of the NOC of Ukraine, as recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in accordance with the Olympic Charter.”

The IOC banned the ROC in October of 2023 “with immediate effect until further notice,” and that ban remains in place today. At the time of the announcement, the IOC reserved “the right to decide about the participation of individual neutral athletes with a Russian passport in the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 at the appropriate time.”