Russian skiers have been banned from international competition since Russia's full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine in February 2022. There has been a consensus within the international skiing community that the ban should remain in place as long as the war continues.
Therefore, it was a major surprise when Aleksandr Bolsjunov – three-time Olympic gold medalist in Beijing 2022 – suddenly appeared in Seiser Alm, Italy. There, the Russian competed in an evening race on Thursday, which was not sanctioned by Fis (International Ski and Snowboard Federation).
"Very bitter feeling"
A news item that was not received warmly by Linn Svahn
I find it hard to see that you should start opening the door just because an individual actor, competition, competition site, or organization does so and goes against the attitudes that exist in most countries. I think it becomes a very bitter feeling, says the 25-year-old after winning the sprint in the World Cup competition in Falun.
Before the competition, Bolsjunov had trained for a few days in Lavasé, near the future Olympic arena. Svahn reacts to the fact that there is a tendency to gradually want to let in Russian skiers.
"Not stood up"
It's often how it happens. It's very scary. Fis has so far been clear that it's not current as long as there is a war going on. And the Swedish government has been clear. I hope we continue to be strong on that issue, she says.
Linn Svahn knows how she would have reacted if she had competed in a similar competition with Russian skiers at the starting line.
I would not have stood up for it.
In the Olympic Games in Paris last summer, individual athletes from Russia and Belarus were allowed to participate under a neutral flag, but no teams were allowed.
To participate, athletes had to not actively support the war and not, for example, be employed by the countries' military.
In several sports, no Russian or Belarusian athletes participated at all, since the special federations did not allow it.
Before the Olympic Games in Milano Cortina 2026, for example, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has decided that Russia and Belarus will not be allowed to participate in international ice hockey next season, which in practice means that the countries will miss the Olympic Games.
It is, of course, the IOC that makes the formal decision, but they usually follow the decisions of the individual sports federations.
