Team Russia celebrates during the 2016 INS ISA World Surfing Games. Photo: Sean Evans//ISA
A recent court ruling has overturned the International Ski and Snowboard Federation’s ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes, allowing them to compete in qualifiers for the 2026 Winter Olympics. The decision could cascade into the Summer Games and potentially reopen the door for athletes who have been excluded since March 2022.
An ISA representative told The Inertia that its executive committee will review its three-year-and-counting ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes in the new year. The organization also pointed to the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) statement, which recommends that federations allow athletes from these countries to participate in youth events.
The IOC has said it will permit Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete at the 2026 Winter Games under neutral flags – similar to the policy used for Paris 2024 – but ultimately delegates the final call to each sport’s governing body. It mirrors the IOC’s current approach to transgender participation in women’s sports.
The International Surfing Association (ISA) banned Russian and Belarusian surfers from competition in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and that policy has remained in place. But the recent Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruling in favor of the previously-banned skiers indicates that change may be coming.
The Russian Surfing Association criticized the ISA’s ban as “illegal and contrary to Olympic principles.”
Unlike the ISA, the WSL has allowed Russian surfers to compete, provided they do so under the neutral “world” flag.
The qualification system for the LA 2028 Olympics has not yet been announced, but by the time it is, the ISA will likely have made an updated decision on the ban – and the CAS ruling will almost certainly factor in.
