Sports Arbitration Court orders federation to admit Russian skiers to international competitions

Russia has won its appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne in the case concerning the International Ski and Snowboard Federation's (FIS) decision to bar Russian skiers from international competitions.

Source: CAS

Details: On 21 October, the FIS Council voted to extend the exclusion of Russian skiers from international competitions for the entire 2025/26 season. However, the Russian side later filed an appeal against this decision.

A hearing was held on 1 December, and on 2 December CAS upheld the Russian appeal. Russian skiers and snowboarders will be allowed to compete internationally under neutral status, while Paralympians will be admitted with full rights, including national symbols. This means Russian Paralympians will be able to take part in the 2026 Games in Italy.

Participation of Russian skiers in the Olympics remains uncertain. Despite the CAS ruling, FIS must still develop mechanisms and criteria for admitting neutral Russian athletes to international competitions. It is unclear how long this process will take, but in most ski disciplines the allocation of Olympic quota places concludes in the second half of December.

If Russian skiers do not have time to compete internationally and earn the required ranking points before the deadline, they will be unable to qualify for the Olympics. However, they will be able to compete in later World Cup events this season.

Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!