With war still raging in Ukraine, Russian Olympic hopes look bleak
With a little less than one year until the Winter Olympics unfold in Italy, Russia's hope to do battle on snow and ice on the world's biggest sports stage appear to melt by the day.
With a little less than one year until the Winter Olympics unfold in Italy, Russia's hope to do battle on snow and ice on the world's biggest sports stage appear to melt by the day.
Unless peace quickly comes to Ukraine and the International Olympic Committee and Moscow suddenly repair their long-fraught relationship, Russian athletes could be largely frozen out of their second consecutive Olympics.
"With only one year to go, we're looking at a similar situation in Paris," said David Wallechinsky, a former president of the International Society of Olympic Historians. "You don't know 100%, but I'd say there's a strong likelihood that Russia will not compete ... as an independent country" in the 2026 Winter Games.
Russia was largely absent from Paris last summer, with only a handful of its athletes qualifying as neutrals. The only medal it won was in women's doubles tennis, in which Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider captured silver.
Russia's potential ban from Milano Cortina 2026 could be even more dramatic with NHL superstars being sidelined and the best figure skaters possibly sitting it out.
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