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The Olympic flag next to the flag of the International Ski Federation Fis
Photo: Matthias Schrader / dpa
Athletes from Russia and Belarus are still not allowed to take part in competitions of the International Ski Federation Fis.
That was decided by the Fis Council during a meeting on Saturday in Sölden.
Fis is responsible for Alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, freestyle and snowboarding competitions.
The association had excluded Russia and Belarus from the World Cup season on March 1 because of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.
The sanction was extended “taking into account the integrity of the Fis competitions and the safety of all participants”, as the Fis announced.
According to the current status, athletes from both nations are therefore not allowed to take part in the Alpine World Ski Championships in Courchevel and Méribel (France) or the Nordic World Ski Championships in Planica (Slovenia) in spring 2023, as a Fis spokeswoman said when asked German press agency confirmed.
Lately there have been signs that the Fis is opening the door to Russians and Belarusians in their sports of cross-country skiing, alpine skiing, ski jumping, Nordic combined, ski freestyle and snowboarding.
In the official documents for the coming season, for example, both nations are listed with starting places.
However, these lists are only “preliminary”, emphasized the Fis.
Dilemma for the International Ski Federation
Fis faced a dilemma when making the decision: did it want to send a signal against Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, which is still being waged with full brutality.
Or is it better to worry about the attractiveness of some sports, especially cross-country skiing?
Along with the top athletes Natalja Neprjaeva and Alexander Bolschunov, the World Cup and Tour de Ski winner and last season's World Cup and Tour de Ski runner-up have Russian citizenship.
Her clear stance on the Russian president is also problematic: Bolschunov took part in a propaganda show put on by President Putin, where the cross-country skier proudly presented his medals.
And the mere mention of the possibility by Fis General Secretary Michael Vion that Russian and Belarusian athletes could compete under a neutral flag at the World Championships, which begins at the end of February, caused a great stir.
This is common practice in cycling and tennis.
Before that, there were boycott threats from major ski nations
Norwegian, Finnish and Swedish top athletes such as Ragnhild Haga, Maja Dahlqvist, Jonna Sundling and Linn Svahn have already announced a boycott of the World Championships in Planica should the FIS soften the boycott.
The German Ski Association had also opposed a possible return: "In the previous voting rounds, the DSV has always positioned itself clearly and supports the decision of the IBU (International Biathlon Union, ed.), Russian and Belarusian teams to participate in international ones Denying competitions in full," said DSV President Franz Steinle.
see/dpa