Russian athletes will be allowed to communicate with the media during the Olympics

Russian athletes will have the right to communicate with media representatives and participate in press conferences during the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy, the press service of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) told Match TV.

The Olympics will be held on February 6–22 in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, the Russians will perform in Italy in a neutral status.

— Will neutral athletes from Russia be allowed to communicate with the media at the 2026 Olympic Games? What about the Russian media?

— At the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, mixed zones provide the opportunity to interact with neutral athletes. However, video filming is permitted only for media rights holders.

Athletes may be invited to the main press center for an on-camera/audio interview with non-media rights holders.

If they win a medal, the athletes will be invited to a press conference at the competition site, the IOC press service told Match TV.

Previously, invitations from the IOC to the Olympics were received by Russian skiers Saveliy Korostelev and Daria Nepryaeva, speed skaters Ksenia Korzhova and Anastasia Semenova, figure skaters Pyotr Gumennik and Adelia Petrosyan, ski mountaineer Nikita Filippov, as well as short track speed skaters Ivan Posashkov and Alena Krylova.