FILE - Rostislav Gaitiukevich and Mikhail Mordasov, from Russia, push at the start of the men's two-man bobsleigh World Cup race in Igls, near Innsbruck, Austria, Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Lisa Leutner, File)
SOLAKE PLACID, N.Y. (AP) — Russian bobsled and skeleton athletes will not compete at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics, the governing body for those two sports decided on Friday.
The International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation voted down a notion that could have let Russian athletes compete as . The vote was held at the federation's congress in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy — the site of the sliding events for the Winter Games in February.
Friday's move follows a similar decision made by the International Luge Federation in June. Both the bobsled-skeleton and luge federations have kept Russian athletes from competing in major international events — such as World Cup races and world championships — since that country invaded Ukraine in 2022.
“Following extensive discussions, the Congress decided by secret ballot not to allow the participation of Russian athletes as neutral athletes in IBSF events,†the federation said.
Russian officials said afterward that the vote was not unanimous.
The decision was not unexpected, and even if Friday's vote had gone differently the path for Russian athletes toward actually qualifying for the Milan-Cortina Games still could have been quite challenging. They haven't competed on the top international circuits in more than three years and it's unclear which — if any — sleds might have been good enough to earn an Olympic spot.
It is possible that Russia could appeal, though time is running out. The World Cup season begins at the Cortina track on Nov. 21. The Milan-Cortina Olympics open on Feb. 6.
“I can’t speak for every athlete, but I can speak for myself and I don’t think it’s a surprise," U.S. bobsledder Kaillie Humphries said Friday. “Even if they were allowed in, how would it work? Is it fair to Ukraine, to Ukrainian athletes, to other athletes that might have family or connections there? It would just create a whole storm of issues.â€
There were 28 sliders from Russia — 10 in luge, six in skeleton and 12 in bobsled — at the 2022 Beijing Games, though they competed under the Russian Olympic Committee flag and not the actual Russian flag. That was part of the sanctions levied against Russia for the state-sponsored doping scandal that overshadowed the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
The Beijing Games closed four days before the attack on Ukraine started. Russian athlete Tatyana Ivanova won a bronze medal in women’s singles luge.
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Russia and military ally Belarus were excluded from team sports but athletes in individual sports could apply for neutral status to compete. A total of 32 accepted invitations from the International Olympic Committee after passing eligibility tests that included not publicly supporting the war and not having ties to military and state security agencies.
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