In a year marked by renewed debate over the role of politics in global sports, international federations have doubled down on their stance against Russian athlete participation in major competitions, citing the ongoing war in Ukraine as the decisive factor. The latest developments have sent shockwaves through the Olympic and athletics communities, with governing bodies for track and field, bobsleigh, skeleton, and luge all reaffirming or extending bans on Russian competitors—regardless of neutral status.
On Friday, September 12, 2025, the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) convened in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, the very site set to host the sliding events for the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan-Cortina. In a closely watched congress, the IBSF voted against allowing Russian athletes to participate in the Games, even under the so-called 'neutral' Olympic flag. The decision mirrored a move by the International Luge Federation in June, which similarly barred Russians from the Winter Olympics, closing the door on any possibility of their presence—neutral or otherwise—at the marquee event.
“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 announced, as reported by the Associated Press. Russian officials, however, disputed the unanimity of the vote, but the outcome was clear: no Russian bobsledders or skeleton athletes will compete in Milan-Cortina. The message from the sliding sports community was unmistakable—solidarity with Ukraine remains paramount, and exceptions would only muddy the waters further.
The rationale for these sweeping bans is rooted in recent history. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a wave of sporting sanctions has swept across the international landscape. Russian athletes have been largely absent from major competitions in bobsleigh, skeleton, and luge for more than three years, with their last appearance coming at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. At those Games, 28 Russian sliders—10 in luge, six in skeleton, and 12 in bobsleigh—competed not under their national flag, but as representatives of the Russian Olympic Committee, a consequence of the ongoing fallout from the 2014 Sochi Olympics doping scandal.
The Beijing Olympics, which concluded just four days before Russia launched its attack on Ukraine, now stand as a historical marker—the last time Russian athletes featured in full at the highest level in these sports. Tatyana Ivanova, a Russian luger, even managed to capture a bronze medal in the women’s singles event. Yet, since then, the doors have remained firmly shut.
For some athletes, the decision was hardly unexpected. “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 remarked on 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.” Her words echoed the sentiment of many within the international sporting community, where the question of fairness has become as important as the competition itself.
The IBSF’s move is not isolated. The International Luge Federation, acting in June, set the precedent by barring Russians from the Winter Olympics, and both organizations have consistently excluded Russian athletes from World Cup races and world championships since 2022. With the World Cup season set to begin at the Cortina track on November 21, 2025, and the Olympics opening on February 6, 2026, the window for any reversal is rapidly closing. While Russia could theoretically mount an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the logistical and competitive hurdles are daunting. Even a favorable ruling would require Russian athletes to qualify for Milan-Cortina, a tall order given their lack of recent international competition.
Meanwhile, the world of athletics has maintained an equally uncompromising stance. Sebastian Coe, president of World Athletics, reiterated on September 14, 2025, that Russian track and field athletes remain barred from the upcoming world championships and other major events. “No, nothing has changed,” Coe stated when asked about the federation’s Russia policy. “I hope to God that it does change—not just for athletics—because it’s an unsustainable situation.”
The athletics ban is especially notable, given that World Athletics has long been an outlier among Olympic sports. While other federations, such as those overseeing fencing or tennis, have allowed Russians to compete under neutral status at the Paris Olympics and other world championships, World Athletics has held firm. The roots of this hard-line approach stretch back nearly a decade, to the doping scandal and cover-up that engulfed the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and led to sweeping sanctions against Russian track and field.
Although World Athletics lifted its doping-related ban in 2022, it quickly imposed a new one in response to the invasion of Ukraine. The result: Russian athletes have been almost entirely absent from international track and field since, with only a handful permitted to compete as “Authorized Neutral Athletes” at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Among them was Maria Lasitskene, who soared to gold in the high jump but has not competed in a major event since Tokyo.
The 2025 world championships are set to feature about 2,000 athletes from 200 countries at Japan’s $1.4 billion National Stadium, a venue originally built for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. But the absence of Russian athletes will once again be conspicuous, a reminder of the ongoing intersection between geopolitics and global sport.
Coe summed up the prevailing mood: “It’s pretty obvious that we want a full contingent. We need a settled position. We need a peaceful agreement before we can move off that landscape.” Until then, the policy remains unchanged, and the hope for a resolution—both on and off the field—remains elusive.
As the countdown to Milan-Cortina and the world championships continues, the sporting world finds itself at a crossroads. The decisions made this week underscore a broader reality: until peace is achieved, Russian athletes will remain on the sidelines, their absence shaping the narrative of international competition for the foreseeable future.
