International Ski Federation extends ban on Belarusian, Russian skiers

May 25, BPN. The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) ruled to maintain the ban of Russian and Belarusian athletes from its competitions, FIS press office said on May 24.

The ban will “remain in effect until further notice,” its statement reads.

The FIS oversees competitions in cross-country skiing, freestyle, snowboarding, alpine skiing, ski jumping and Nordic combined.

Freestyle is one of the most successful sports in Belarus. Since 1998, Belarusian freestyle skiers have won a total of eight Olympic medals.

Four days after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) called on the international sports federations not to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete. That call was immediately answered on a mass scale and resulted in almost complete isolation of Russian and Belarusian athletes.

However, in late March 2023, the IOC said that Belarusian and Russian athletes might be admitted to international competitions under a neutral flag on condition that they are not actively involved in supporting military operations and are not linked to the military.

A number of international sports federations followed the IOC call and allowed athletes from Belarus and Russia to take part in their competitions.

The amended IOC recommendations regarding the admission of Belarusian athletes to the 2024 Olympics “aim at a positive solution,” according to Viktar Łukašenka, chair of Belarus’ National Olympic Committee.