That's what we've been waiting for: where our neutral athletes will perform before the Olympics

Every week, the list of Russian athletes and coaches who have received neutral status is updated. Some have already been able to perform on the international stage and even qualify for the Olympics, while others have yet to do so. About where and when you can see our winter visitors in the coming month, see the Izvestia article.

Necessary experience

Russian skiers have already completed the minimum task for themselves. Savely Korostelev and Daria Nepryaeva were admitted to international competitions before the stage in Davos, Switzerland, where they won all the Olympic quotas available to our team. And according to the regulations, only one male and one female license are available to Russians.

In Switzerland, the results of the Russian Cup winners last season turned out to be far from medals due to lack of experience. Savely and Daria need to get used to rivals, heights, short sprint laps, skiing without fluoride, and the absence of a large team behind them. In Davos, the skiers were assisted by only one servicer, Evgeny Uftikov, who took over the organizational issues. This week, the squad was replenished: coach Danil Akimov and doctor Anastasia Tikhonova received neutral status.

To gain international experience, you need to keep performing. Therefore, Korostelev and Nepryaeva decided not to come to Russia before the Olympics. The plans include the Tour de Ski and the World Cup stages. The multi-day ski race starts in Toblach, Italy, on December 28. The program includes sprints in both styles, classic 10 km heats and a 20 km pursuit, and a 5 km skate mass start. The Tour de Ski will end with an uphill race on January 4th.

After the competition in Italy, the Russians have two more World Cup stages to test their readiness for the Games. The first one will be held in Oberhof, Germany, on January 17-18, and the second one in Goma, Switzerland, on January 24-25. It is hoped that three of our athletes will compete in the Tour de Ski and subsequent stages of the World Cup. Skier Sergey Volkov is currently in Europe, awaiting approval of a neutral status.

Ski mountaineer Nikita Filippov, who was the first Russian to qualify for the Olympics last season, also needs experience. However, in the new one, he could not get a license to participate in the World Cup for a long time. It was only in mid-December that Nikita received the long-awaited letter, as well as an invitation to the Games from the IOC.

Filippov is currently training in Russia, and before the Olympics he plans to take part in three World Cup stages: Courchevel in France (January 15-16), Coma Pedrosa in Andorra (January 24-25) and Boi Taul in Spain (January 31 – February 1).

Chasing quotas

In addition to cross-country skiing, FIS is responsible for five other sports: alpine skiing, ski jumping, cross-country skiing, snowboarding and freestyle skiing. In each of them, we have at least one representative with an approved neutral status. The majority of quotas in these sports are distributed according to the rating, for which athletes have started earning points since last season. So, the Russians need to catch up.

At the same time, Anastasia Tatalina, a freestyle skier, received admission along with Korostelev and Nepryaeva. Despite the fact that the FIS gave her a neutral status in the first ranks, the athlete did not manage to qualify in the big air discipline, in which she took gold at the World Championships. But Tatalina still has two World Cup stages in slopestyle: in Aspen, USA (January 9) and Laax, Switzerland (January 17). In an interview with Izvestia, Anastasia outlined the task for these launches.

— To get into the top 4 at both stages, — Tatalina noted. "Then I'm going through." Otherwise, there may not be enough points to get into the top 30 athletes who are going to the Olympics. I think that with the program that I am preparing, I have a chance to qualify.

From snowboarding, where we often won medals at the Olympics and World Championships, so far only Maria Travnicheva has a neutral status. She has not yet joined the fight for a ticket to the Games.

— We are waiting for a visa. We plan to start performing after the New Year. What are the chances of selection? I don't know. She's in good shape, so it's likely," Denis Tikhomirov, president of the Russian Snowboard Federation, told Izvestia. — Travnicheva specializes in parallel disciplines. Perhaps we will see her at the World Cup stages in Scuola, Switzerland (January 10), Bad Gastein, Austria (January 13) and Bansko, Bulgaria (January 17-18).

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Our four ski jumpers were leaving Olympic Beijing with a team silver medal. Now one of the heroes of those Games, Danil Sadreev, as well as Mikhail Nazarov, has received admission. Dmitry Dubrovsky, President of the Ski Jumping and Biathlon Federation, hopes that other national team leaders will be given neutral status. To qualify, everyone needs to get into the top 20 in two out of six stages. First, the Russians must perform at the "Four Jumps Tour": in Germany's Obestdorf (December 29) and Garmisch-Partenkirchen (January 1), Austria's Innsbruck (January 4) and Bischofshofen (January 6). After that, there will be two stages of the World Cup in Sapporo — on January 17 and 18.

Among the two-wrestlers, Artyom Galunin received approval of the FIS application. He is currently dealing with visa issues, but the chances of selection in this sport are low. German Schonach (January 2-4), Estonian Otepja (January 8-11) and Oberhof (January 16-18) will host the next stages of the World Cup in cross-country skiing. Obviously, Galunin can only compete in Germany, as entry to Estonia is currently difficult for Russians.

The FIS has given the most neutral statuses to Russian skiers — Yulia Pleshkova, Alexander Andrienko, Semyon Efimov and Ivan Kuznetsov. We don't have a lot of prospects in this form, but there are plenty of options where to perform. During the qualifying period, the men will have World Cup stages in Livigno, Italy (December 27) and Madonna di Campiglio (January 7), Adelboden, Switzerland (January 10-11) and Wengen (January 16-18). The women's competition will be held in three stages in Austria — Semmering (December 27-28), Sauchens (January 10-11) and Flachau (January 13), as well as in the Slovenian city of Kranjska Gora (January 3-4) and the Italian municipality of Tarvisio (January 17-18).

The highway is closed

There are not many bobsleigh trails in the world that can host international competitions. One of them is inaccessible to us — in Sigulda, Latvia. In mid-December, the World Cup of skeleton and bobsledders was held in this city, when our athletes had just received neutral status. Luge competitions are also planned here after the New Year, but also without us.

— There are very strict entry rules in this country. You can't use a tourist visa. Therefore, it does not work because of the restrictions that are established in Latvia for Russians to visit the country," Natalia Garth, head of the Federal SSR, explained to Izvestia.

Thus, before the Games, Russian luge athletes have the opportunity to compete at three German World Cup stages: in Winterberg (January 10-11) and two in Oberhof (January 17-18 and 23-24). Only the first one qualifies for the Olympics.

The six luge skiers began the qualifying campaign in Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy. However, before the World Cup in Lake Placid, the FIL executive committee stripped Alexander Gorbatsevich, Sofia Mazur and Ksenia Shamova of their neutral status based on new and previously unknown facts. The remaining three — Matvey Perestoronin, Pavel Repilov and Daria Olesik — fulfilled the qualification standards: they performed at two qualifying stages, gaining the required number of points.

Bobsledders and skeleton athletes have not started qualifying for the Olympics yet. In January, Germany and Switzerland will host three World Cup stages: Winterberg (January 2-4), St. Moritz (January 10-11) and Altenberg (January 16-18). However, Russians cannot immediately compete among the strongest.

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"All neutral athletes have a zero rating, so they cannot be allowed to participate in the World Cup stages this season. We are considering the possibility of competing at the European Cup," Anatoly Pegov, head of the Russian Bobsleigh Federation, explained to TASS.

Pegov previously stated that the team plans to compete at the Asian Cup in early 2026. The next European Cup will be held in Innsbruck, Austria. Skeleton athletes compete from January 9 to January 10, and bobsledders — from January 14 to January 18. The International Federation refused to allow Russian bobsleigh doubles and fours, citing the recommendations of the IOC. As a result, nine people got neutral status. In the skeleton, Victoria Vettel, Alyona Frolova, Polina Knyazeva, Daniil Romanov, Vladislav Semenov, Polina Tyurina and Yeremey Zykov received it. In bobsleigh — Lyubov Chernykh and Sofia Stepushkina.

In standby mode

In ice sports, which are subject to the ISU, we will see Russians only at the Olympics. The International Federation allowed our athletes only to the qualifying starts, and the selection for the Games has already been completed. Figure skaters Pyotr Gumennik and Adelia Petrosyan, short-track skaters Alyona Krylova and Ivan Posashkov, and speed skaters Ksenia Korzhova and Anastasia Semenova passed it.

Biathlon remains the only individual winter sport where we do not have access. The RBU has filed an appeal against the suspension to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. However, the IBU refused to fast-track the case. Shooting skiers have almost zero chances of getting to international competitions in the near future. Three World Cup stages will be held before the Olympics: in Oberhof, Germany (January 8-11) and Ruhpolding (January 14-18), as well as in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic (January 22-25), where it will be difficult for Russians to enter even if they are admitted by the IBU.

We will definitely not see our representatives in team sports such as hockey and curling at the Games in Italy, where the selection for the Olympics has long been completed.