Six athletes from Russia and four from Belarus will be allowed to compete under national flags at the 2026 Paralympic Games. Sky News reports this, according to UNN.
Six athletes from Russia and four from Belarus will be allowed to compete under national flags at the 2026 Paralympic Games in Milan-Cortina.
The publication adds that athletes from both countries have been banned from competing under their flags since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with Belarus being a close ally of Moscow.
The International Paralympic Committee stated that athletes "will be treated the same as athletes from any other country."
Russia was granted a total of six slots:
- two slots in Paralympic alpine skiing (one male, one female);
- two slots in Paralympic cross-country skiing (one male, one female);
- two slots for Paralympic snowboarding (both male).
Belarus was granted a total of four slots, all in cross-country skiing (one male, three female). The Russian Paralympic Committee has already announced that three-time alpine skiing gold medalist Aleksey Bugayev will be among the athletes competing.