International Olympic Committee makes major announcement regarding Russian participation
With the NHL expected to send their players to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy in just over two years, many had been wondering what the status of Russia would be by then.
Currently, Russia is banned from participating in IIHF events, but weren't technically from the Olympics, as they were allowed to compete under the Olympic flag. As for the Russian Olympic Committee, surprisingly, they weren't hit with any sort of sanctions, until today.
The International Olympic Committee's Executive Board announced on Thursday that they have suspended the Russian Olympic Committee with immediate effect.
The move from the IOC means that the Russian Olympic Committee is no longer allowed to operate as a National Olympic Committee and will not receive any funding from the Olympic Movement.
When it comes to the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics and Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, Russian athletes aren't fully banned. The International Olympic Committee will rule on individual cases for allowing Russian athletes to compete under a neutral flag at a later date.
It's going to be interesting if this will have any major impact on the National Hockey League's decision to send their players to the 2026 Winter Games. It's possible that, if allowed by the IOC, they compete under the Olympic flag, as they were required to do in 2018 and 2022 due to doping violations.
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