Russian teams, including the ice hockey team, remain excluded from participation in next year’s Winter Olympics in Milan, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Tuesday.
The IOC is responding to reports from Russia that officials from that country had held talks with the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) about participation in the Winter Olympics.
“The IOC Executive Committee’s recommendation of March 2023 regarding teams of athletes with a Russian passport remains in effect,” the IOC writes in a statement.
“This is based on the fact that a group of individual neutral athletes cannot by definition be considered a team.” According to the IOC, the International Ice Hockey Federation abides by the decision.
The IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee in October 2023 because the Russians had included annexed Ukrainian territories in the national sports federation. The Russian ice hockey players won gold at the 2018 Games and silver at the 2022 Games.
The Winter Olympics in Milan begin next year on February 6 and last until February 22.