2026 Winter Olympics: Neutral athletes are allowed to attend the closing ceremony

No neutral athlete has ever won an event that would have resulted in the playing of the Olympic anthem and the raising of the Olympic flag in lieu of any national representation.

The AIN representative most likely to win gold was Russian figure skating champion Adelia Petrosyan, but the 18-year-old finished sixth after falling during the free skate.

Currently, there are no official plans for the IOC to lift its ban on Russian or Belarusian athletes competing under their national flag at future Games.

However, some Russians and Belarusians will be allowed to compete on behalf of their countries at the Paralympic Games in Milan-Cortina next month following a decision by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).

The International Olympic Committee confirmed to BBC Sport that 10 athletes had received bilateral committee invitations to compete in alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and para-snowboarding.

As a result, Ukrainian Paralympic athletes and officials said they would boycott the opening ceremony on March 6.

IOC President Kirsty Coventry declined to comment on the IOC’s decision at a press conference in Milan on Friday.

“The IPC is completely separate, and not part of our organization,” she said. “We are focused on the last few days of games.”