Overview
- The Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne confirmed it received an appeal from the Russian Ski Federation, about a dozen athletes, and the Russian Paralympic Committee.
- The filing challenges an October FIS decision that bars Russian and Belarusian competitors from entering FIS Olympic qualifying events even as neutral athletes for Milan–Cortina 2026.
- Under current IOC policy, athletes from Russia and Belarus may compete as individual neutrals at the Games, but international federations decide whether they can enter qualifying events.
- The plaintiffs seek access to qualifiers in alpine skiing, snowboarding, cross-country, Nordic combined, and ski jumping.
- A recent CAS ruling lifted a blanket ban on Russian lugers, but how any similar decision would be implemented in skiing remains unclear and the FIS exclusion stays in force pending the case.