Russian athletes get legal win ahead of Winter Olympics in luge appeal case at CAS

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Russian luge athletes were given hope of competing at the 2026 Winter Olympics after sport’s highest court ruled against a blanket ban on the country’s athletes on Friday because of the war on Ukraine.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport’s judgment requiring the International Luge Federation (FIL) to start assessing Russian athletes for approved neutral (AIN) status could yet lead to skiing’s governing body doing the same ahead of the Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Games in February.

CAS said its judges partially upheld appeals by the Russian luge federation and six athletes, but denied their request to resume competing immediately in international events.

At court, FIL argued for the continued exclusion of all Russian athletes on security grounds because letting them compete “would increase the risk of incidents caused by the public, or by other athletes.”

CAS said its judges “ruled that the exclusion of (Russian) athletes from FIL competitions is maintained, but the prohibition of Russian athletes who satisfy the criteria of AINs to compete is set aside.”

Neutral status can be approved according to International Olympic Committee guidance for athletes who have not publicly supported the military invasion of Ukraine nor have ties to military or state security agencies.

Some Russian and Belarusian athletes competed at the Paris Summer Games last year without their national identity of flag, anthem and team colors.

In a separate Russian appeal case, CAS dismissed speed skater Daria Kachanova’s request to get neutral status from the International Skating Union to compete in Olympic qualifying races.

“This rejection was based on a report that outlined Ms. Kachanova’s affiliation with CSKA Moscow, a sports club controlled by the Ministry of Defense of Russia,” the court said.

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AP Winter Olympics at https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics