What is AIN at Olympics? Explaining neutral athletes | IOC moves closer to reinstating Russia by …

Explore the latest developments concerning What is AIN.

What is AIN at Olympics? Explaining neutral athletes

MILAN — Officially, Russia is banned from the Olympics because Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. At the 2026 Winter Games in Milano Cortina, there will be no Russian flags, no Russian anthems and no Russian national colors incoporated in the competition. (The same holds true for Belarus, which has supported Russia in the war.)

But there will be athletes with Russian and Belarussian passports competing as "Individual Neutral Athletes," or AINs for short, if they meet specific conditions. That contingent will include 13 Russians and seven Belarussians, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced Jan. 29.

If any of the AIN athletes were to win gold, a wordless anthem commissioned by the IOC would play. And none of the them will be allowed to participate in the Opening Ceremony Feb. 6. The IOC used the same procedure for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

IOC moves closer to reinstating Russia by LA28, but backlash may put its return on ice

This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

MILAN — Leaders of the International Olympic Committee appear ready to lift suspensions of Russia and Belarus, clearing the way for athletes from those countries to return to major international competitions perhaps as early as the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

But those plans may have hit a snag last week with the international show of support for Ukrainian skeleton slider Vladyslav Heraskevych, who was disqualified from the Milan-Cortina Games for refusing to compete without a helmet featuring images of people killed following the Russian invasion of his country.

Russia plays prideful, but there’s no doubt the Olympics ban is hurting | Bruce Berglund

Some Russians have dismissed the Games over the continued exclusion of their athletes. But the truth is international sport is still important to Moscow

Duma member Vitaly Milonov didn’t mince words when asked four years ago about the international ban against Russian athletes.

“There’s no point in humiliating ourselves and begging to be let in,” said the St Petersburg deputy, a member of Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party. “We have our pride.” International events had been corrupted by the United States, he claimed in a 2022 interview, just weeks after the International Olympic Committee and other governing bodies imposed the ban. “Only Russia can say no. Other countries will accept whatever nonsense the Americans force on them – teams of vegans, queers and lesbians.”

For more detailed information, explore updates concerning What is AIN.

For more news…