Russian skiers Savely Korostelev and Daria Nepryaeva, as well as speed skaters Ksenia Korzhova and Anastasia Semenova, received invitations from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to participate in the 2026 Olympics in Italy, the organization’s press service reports.

The Olympic Games will take place from 6 to 22 February in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Earlier, invitations from the IOC were accepted by Russian figure skaters Pyotr Gumennik and Adelia Petrosyan, ski mountaineer Nikita Filippov and short track skaters Ivan Posashkov and Alena Krylova.

The creative director of the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics, Marko Balic, confirmed that two cauldrons containing the Olympic flame will be used during the event.

The opening ceremony of the 2026 Games will take place on February 6 at the San Siro stadium in Milan, and parts of it will be held in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Livigno and Predazzo, the cities that will host various competitions.

— I am ready to confirm that we will use two bowls. We want Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo to be on an equal footing, so that no one feels left out.

We are preparing a program for the works of Puccini, Verdi and Rossini. Their music will be the soul of our ceremony. People’s emotions are our secret ingredient.

We want to create some bright and memorable moments throughout the ceremony. I don’t want to reveal all my cards, but I hope that we will touch certain notes in the souls of the audience,” Balic said during a press conference.

Balic also said that the opening ceremony of the Olympics will be dedicated, among other things, to Giorgio Armani. The Italian fashion designer died on September 4, 2025 at the age of 91.

“We will use images created by Armani over many years. By doing so, we want to honor his memory and note the contribution he made to the development of the global fashion world and world art. And to show how much he meant to us Italians.

Harmony is the main theme of our ceremony. It is about harmony between man and nature. Everything that is harmonious is beautiful. And for Italians, beauty is the essence of nature. Harmony is also a universal message of peace, something we really need in 2026.

But we know that the main stars of the ceremony are the athletes,” Balic said in a press conference.

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.