Zhurova: “Perhaps only young athletes from Russia will be allowed to participate in the Olympic Games. You can’t count on a large number of medals.”

Olympic champion, State Duma deputy Svetlana Zhurova told Match TV that we should not expect a large number of medals from Russian athletes at the 2026 Olympics due to the admission criteria.

The 2026 Winter Olympics will take place from 6 to 22 February in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. Russian athletes will be able to take part in competitions in some sports in a neutral status.

— Perhaps only young athletes from Russia will be allowed to participate in the Olympics. For them, this is, of course, an experience. But you can’t count on a large number of medals. This will be one of the first international starts for our youth. This is a definite test. But, for example, our skaters managed to qualify, even without international experience, I hope they will succeed at the Olympics. But in any case, there will not be many medals, and the impression will be as if Russia is performing poorly. This was the case at the Olympics in Korea, there were only two gold medals. But there was a vivid impression from them,” Zhurova told Match TV.

On Tuesday, the Russian Ski Federation (FLGR) announced that the council of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) had extended the suspension of the Russians. The FIS later confirmed that the council had voted against the participation of athletes from Russia and Belarus in the qualifying competitions for the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in a neutral status. Russian skiers have not competed in international competitions since 2022.