On Friday, January 23, a women’s sprint race will be held in Raubichi, Belarus, which will open the competitive program of the fourth stage of the Alfa-Bank Commonwealth Biathlon Cup.

The athletes will start the 7.5 km distance at 12:00 Moscow time. Watch the live broadcast of the race from 11:50 on the TV channels “Match TV” and “Match! Arena”, as well as the websites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.

38 athletes entered the sprint. The race will be attended by Olympic silver medalists Irina Kazakevich, Kristina Reztsova and Svetlana Mironova, as well as Natalia Shevchenko, Inna Tereshchenko, Victoria Slivko, Victoria Metelya, Anastasia Khalili, Elizaveta Burundukova and other Russians.

Olympic champion Dinara Smolskaya, world championship bronze medalist Anna Sola, Elena Kulak, Irina Shakleina, Ksenia Vorobey, Victoria Shashkova and Anna Pestereva will compete for Belarus.

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Obvious progress in the restoration of Russian sports on the international stage is noticeable even to outspoken skeptics. Just in the last couple of months: the IOC gave recommendations to all federations to restore the rights of Russian juniors, our skiers, skeletonists, and lugers returned to international competitions, the flag and anthem were allowed in judo, the same thing happened in Paralympic sports, where we were also allowed to participate in the Paralympic Games in full status.

The next logical step is Russia’s admission to the Olympics without any restrictions. And there is already a clear understanding of when this will happen. A sports official of the highest level, who definitely knows a lot, let slip.

Luc Tardif / Photo: © NurPhoto / Contributor / NurPhoto / Gettyimages.ru

Warning signal from above

According to a journalist from The Athletic, the President of the International Hockey Federation (IIHF), Luc Tardif, said that the International Olympic Committee plans to fully admit Russian athletes and national teams to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

The wording sounds specific and reassuring, but at the same time as accurate as possible. Tardif did not specify whether we are talking about performing under the national flag, about the return of federations to their previous status, or about some intermediate option. There are no official statements from the IOC either. Moreover, it is strange that the representative of the winter federation is the first to speak about such an important initiative regarding the summer Games.

Nevertheless, it is important that the word “full-fledged” is increasingly heard in the public space, and not the compromise constructions that have become common in recent years. And Tardiff is usually quite careful in his statements. It is unlikely that he would declare something that he is not one hundred percent sure of. Of course, the words of the head of the IIHF alone are not enough to allow Russia to the Olympics, but Tardiff definitely had reasons to say so.

Hockey is the most difficult case

As for winter sports and hockey in particular, the situation there is much more difficult. According to Tardif, the junior teams of Russia and Belarus could potentially be the first to return to the international arena. This is logical: it is children’s and youth sports that the IOC now considers as the least politicized segment.

According to the forecast of The Athletic journalist, the possible dates are as follows:

• return of U18 national teams – no earlier than 2028;
• the return of youth teams – no earlier than 2029;
• the return of adult national teams – no earlier than spring 2029.

Alexander Ovechkin / Photo: © RvS.Media/Monika Majer / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

If this scenario comes true, then the full return of the Russian national hockey team could take place by the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps. The deadlines are distant, but at least they are indicated – and this already distinguishes the current situation from the previous uncertainty.

At the same time, on the same day it became known that the IIHF was not ready to return Russia at the moment. The Athletic journalist Chris Johnston, citing sources, reported that the IIHF upheld the sanctions against the Russian and Belarusian teams.

European resistance is still here

Despite all the cautious signals from above, serious resistance remains within the hockey community. According to The Athletic, Finland, Sweden and the Czech Republic are still against the return of the Russian national team. These federations take a tough position and do not hide it at federation meetings.

In addition, the publication’s source notes that a negative reaction is also possible from the political leadership of Canada. Namely, Canada remains one of the key centers of influence in world hockey, and without taking into account its position, it is extremely difficult to move forward.

Luc Tardif himself consistently explains his logic. He emphasizes that he does not have the power to influence political processes, but is responsible for the holding of competitions.

– Everyone will be happy when they return to their family. When we do this, it will mean that many things have been settled. I have to defend the competition. When the time comes, we will invite them. We are still in contact, but at the moment it is impossible to plan the organization of the World Cup and a return to Russia in the context of the current situation. When the return occurs, it will mean that a lot has been resolved, The Athletic quotes Tardif.

Tardif’s statements do not immediately change reality and do not give reason to talk about the imminent return of the Russian national team to major tournaments. There are too many unknowns: the admission format, timing, the position of individual federations and the political background.

However, the shift in rhetoric itself is important. For the first time in a long time, the discussion of the return is not taking place in the format of hypotheses and behind-the-scenes conversations, but with approximate guidelines and reference to the Olympic cycle. The process is moving slowly and unevenly, but it is starting again – and this is perhaps the main conclusion at the moment.

The number of Russians at the Olympic Games in Milan continues to increase. Our skiers have already received official invitations from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and along with them the speed skaters. So Russian fans will definitely have someone to cheer for in Italy, but this is not the final list yet.

Norwegian skiers, for example, should definitely be very worried.

The IOC is moving in the right direction

The gradual softening of rhetoric on the part of the IOC leadership with the arrival of new president Kirsty Coventry clearly contributed to the admission of Russians to winter sports. Of course, the work of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation and the Russian Olympic Committee, headed by Mikhail Degtyarev, and the efforts of specific federations also played a role. All this together gave the effect that the whole country is now observing.

Following figure skaters Adelia Petrosyan and Petr Gumennik, as well as ski mountaineering representative Nikita Filippov, short track skaters Ivan Posashkov and Alena Krylova received coveted invitations from the IOC. Considering that 1.5 years ago even such situations seemed unrealistic, this was already a victory. Now four more have been added to these athletes.

Finally, star Russian skiers Savely Korostelev and Daria Nepryaeva received final admission to the Games. The specifics of the IOC system work in such a way that it is not enough just to have a neutral status, you must first qualify and then be thoroughly checked by the IOC for compliance with Olympic principles and neutrality. Saveliy and Daria qualified for the Games back in December last year at the World Cup in Davos, but they only received an invitation on January 21.

Daria Nepryaeva / Photo: © Grega Valancic/VOIGT / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

Russia has someone to root for

Without a doubt, Korostelev and Nepryaeva are among the leaders of Russian skiing. Saveliy has repeatedly won domestic competitions (four victories at Russian championships), and Daria is the current winner of the Russian Cup. The guys returned to the international level only a month ago, but have already made great progress, repeatedly placing in the top ten in the World Cup and Tour de Ski. The foreign press is confident that our skiers will compete for medals at the Olympics, so it’s time for our Norwegian rivals to start worrying.

On the same day, our speed skaters Ksenia Korzhova and Anastasia Semenova received the green light. The first is the Russian champion at distances of 3000 and 5000 meters. In fact, the 21-year-old athlete became the owner of an Olympic license to perform in Milan in precisely these types of programs. At the national championship, her peer Semenova took bronze in the 1500 m distance and in the mass start, in which she received the coveted license for the Olympics.

Many more Russians in various sports have received neutral status from international federations, which leaves them the opportunity to qualify for the Games in Milan. In some disciplines, unfortunately, the qualifying starts have already ended, but there is a chance that some of ours will still have time to get to Italy in one way or another. In any case, fans in Russia will definitely have someone to worry about. In addition, many of those who received invitations have very real chances to compete for a good result.