At the beginning of winter, the IOC recommended that international federations lift all restrictions on Russian juniors. If prohibitive recommendations were once implemented instantly and everywhere, now most federations are in no hurry.

And yet the process continues. Two Russian teams at once got the opportunity to compete at international tournaments in full status!

Restoring justice

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is hiding cowardice behind attempts to distance itself from politics in matters related to the hypothetical suspension of athletes from the United States. At the same time, the organization is in no hurry to remove all restrictions from Russian athletes. Nevertheless, justice is being restored in small steps.

Paralympic athletes compete under the flag, and restrictions on juniors have been formally lifted. Federations are slowly, but still beginning to follow the updated IOC recommendations one after another. The International Equestrian Federation (FEI), the International Fencing Federation (FIE) and the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) some time ago restored the rights of our young athletes. And on Monday it became known that two more federations are fully returning young Russians.

Russian Paralympians / Photo: © International Ski Federation

“Under the national flag”

— Guided by the recommendations of the IOC, the WCF (World Curling Federation) council, held last week, decided to admit Russian juniors to international competitions. Junior teams from Russia and Belarus will be able to perform under national flags, in national equipment, with the anthem performed and their country indicated. For the first time, the new rules will be applied already in the current season, on May 5–10, 2026, at the World Junior Curling Championship among mixed pairs in Edmonton, wrote the Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) Mikhail Degtyarev in the Telegram channel.

Following the World Curling Federation, the World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC) made a fundamental decision regarding the Russians and Belarusians. The organization’s executive board decided to allow representatives of the two countries to participate in the tournaments. True, for now there is an age limit of up to 18 years.

“The decision was made based on the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee, which consistently defends the principle of free access for young people to international sports, regardless of political factors,” notes the ROC Telegram channel.

“Sport has become out of politics”

In Russia, the news about the admission of our young athletes under the national flag was positively received.

— The best news in recent years in world curling is the admission of our guys, even if they are still young. We will seek admission without age restrictions for the rest of our athletes. Our federation will hold an emergency meeting with the coaching staff. “Young people will need to prepare for the World Championships in May,” Dmitry Svishchev, president of the Russian Curling Federation, told Match TV.

– I’m delighted. Cool, I’m very glad, it’s been a long time coming! I’m glad that sport has finally become a sport and that it has become outside of politics. Great news. Perhaps juniors need this even more now, because, unfortunately, we have most likely lost the generation that was ready to fight on equal terms with top athletes, because we were not allowed to perform for a long time,” Match TV quotes two-time European curling champion Anna Sidorova.

Anna Sidorova / Photo: © RIA Novosti / Arthur Lebedev

“Everyone was waiting for this decision. We have long wanted to show the level of Russian baseball and softball players at the international level, to show the whole world that they shouldn’t have suspended us, because it’s interesting to play with us, we are worthy opponents,” said Dmitry Kiselev, president of the Russian Baseball and Softball Federation, to Match TV.

What to expect next? Full restoration of the rights of all Russian athletes. Although, of course, predicting the timing of this long-awaited event is a thankless task.

Norwegian biathlete Johannes Dahle-Sevdahl won the pursuit race at the fifth stage of the Biathlon World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany.

Dale-Ševdal made one mistake on four firing lines and covered the 12.5 km distance in 30 minutes 23.9 seconds.

The second place was taken by the Frenchman Eric Perrault (lag – 4.9 seconds; 3 misses), the top three was closed by the Swede Martin Ponsiluoma (+7.5 seconds; 4 misses).

The leader of the overall World Cup standings, Italian Tommaso Giacomel, finished fifth (+8.5 seconds; 5 penalties).

The next stage of the Biathlon World Cup will be held from January 22 to 25 in the Czech city of Nove Mesto.

Natalia Shevchenko became the first in the large mass start at the third stage of the Alfa-Bank Russian Biathlon Cup in Demino (Yaroslavl region).

Shevchenko made one mistake on four shooting stages and covered the 12 km distance in 32 minutes 43.7 seconds. Tamara Derbusheva took second place (lag – 7 seconds; 0 misses), rounding out the top three was Victoria Slivko, who was 11.6 seconds behind the winner and made one miss.

The next stage of the Russian Cup will take place from February 26 to March 1 in Zlatoust (Chelyabinsk region).

Watch live broadcasts of the tournament on the Match TV channel, as well as on the websites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.