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DEby Sophia Garcia, American University, Promote Ukraine’s intern, 2026
Vladyslav Heraskevych, a Ukrainian skeleton racer, was disqualified at this year’s 2026 Winter Olympics after paying tribute on his helmet to fallen Ukrainian athletes from the invasion. True. Belarus and Russia will be able to compete in the upcoming 2026 Winter Paralympics under their national flag. True. Both the Olympics and Paralympics are impartial. False.
Russian and Belarusian participation in the Olympic Games
Since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia and Belarus have been banned from participating in the Olympics from the International Olympic Committee (IOC). They are banned under the pretense of violating the Olympic Truce, a diplomatic truce used since the first Olympic Game in Ancient Greece. Since 776 BCE, this truce has been used to ensure safe travel of all actors participating in the Games and to promote peace among city-states. It has since been adapted by the IOC in 1990 to include more concrete parameters to promote periods of peace among states through sport. The requirement is that all participating states must pause conflicts beginning seven days before the Games, lasting until seven days after the Games. Historically, Russia has violated the truce, once in 2008 with the invasion of Georgia, and again in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea. Now, Russia has been banned after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and Belarus has been banned as an ally of Russia, failing to condemn the actions of Russia against Ukraine.
The ban stops both Russia and Belarus from participating in the Games and representing their country, however, it does not mean that Russians and Belarusians cannot participate. They are able to participate in the Games under Athletes Individuels Neutres (AIN), otherwise known as “Individual Neutral Athletes”. Such figures that have participated in this year’s Olympics under this title include Petr Gumennik and silver medalist Nikita Filippov. Although Russians and Belarusians can participate, they must do so under strict requirements. These requirements are that participants must not represent a flag nor country, they cannot have their national anthem played if they win a medal, they may only participate in individual sports, and they may not participate in the Parade of Nations in the Opening Ceremony.
Change in the 2026 Winter Paralympics
Since 2023, the Paralympics have enacted the same rules that the Olympics have on Russians and Belarusians that wish to participate in the Paralympic Games. However this will change this upcoming Paralympics. Last year, Russia and Belarus filed separate appeals to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) against the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), where CAS voted in favor of Russia and Belarus. The findings were that under Article 5.2 of FIS Statue, FIS must be politically neutral and that banning Russia and Belarus from participating in these events are discriminatory. The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) must abide by this ruling as FIS is the governing body of skiing and snowboarding, events hosted in the Paralympics. Beginning in the 2026 Paralympics, Russians and Belarusians will be allowed to compete under their state flag for skiing and snowboarding, and will be welcomed at the Opening Ceremony. The other 4 events hosted by the Paralympics will continue with the previous restrictions from 2023.
As a result of this action, the Ukrainian Paralympic team is scheduled to boycott the Parade of Nations and the entirety of the Opening Ceremony, supported and followed by the Czech, Finnish, Polish, Latvian, Estonian, and Dutch Paralympic teams. Suspilne, the official broadcasting channel of the Paralympics for Ukrainians, stands in support of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Paralympic team, refusing to broadcast the Opening Ceremony. They will continue to broadcast the rest of the Paralympics. “We consider it unacceptable to invite representatives of an aggressor state and its satellite, which is waging a full-scales war in Europe, destroying Ukrainian cities and killing Ukrainians, including hundreds of athletes… the International Paralympic Committee has invited Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete at the Games- 2026 under their national flags. We view this as a systemic policy of legitimizing the presence of Russia and Belarus on the global stage”, is the official stance of Suspilne.
Around 50 states are to be represented in this year’s Paralympics. With a 1/7 of participating nations boycotting the Opening Ceremony, the IPC President, Andrew Parsons, reflects that the Paralympics are about inclusivity and diversity, and is concerned that “sometimes these situations can be politicized.” The Olympics and Paralympics are inherently political. They cannot claim to be neutral. Every action, and therefore inaction, is a political stance, furthering an agenda such as the inclusion of Israel in both Olympics and Paralympics despite calls for removal.
Olympics throughout the years
Historically, the Olympics have always been political despite claims that it is not.
In 1906, Peter O’Connor, an Irish man was to compete for the long distance jump in the Olympics under Great Britain. O’Connor, along with his fellow Irishmen, were made to compete for Great Britain as Ireland had no Olymic Committee and was not a free nation at the time. After winning the silver medal, O’Connor used his jumping abilities to replace the Union Jacket flag with an Erin go Bragn flag, a flag which symbolized Irish pride and nationalism.
In the 1920 Games, those who were defeated in World War II, consisting of Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire, were not invited to participate in the Games.
In 1936, the Olympic Games were held in Berlin, under Hitler reign. Hitler’s goal was to use the media attention of the Games to showcase German athleticism and further his propaganda of the “superior” Aryan race. This dream was crushed by US track and field athlete, Jesse Owens, who won 4 gold medals for the long jump, 100- and 200-meter dashes, and 4 x 100-meter relay.
Then there is the case of Taiwan participating in the Games. Although not recognized as independent by China, in 1956, Taiwan was allowed to participate by the IOC under the name Republic of China (ROC). Due to this incident, China, participating under the name People’s Republic of China (PRC), boycotted the entire event. To mitigate this issue, the IOC required Taiwan to participate under the name “Formosa” in 1960. From 1984 to the present day, Taiwan is required by the IOC to compete under the name “Chinese Taipei” so as to not damage relations with China. With this change, Taiwan is represented with a specific non-political flag called the Plum Blossom Banner.
Now, in 2026, Vladyslav Heraskevych is disqualified for wearing a memorial helmet. This is particularly jarring as Heraskevych has worn the helmet to every practice with no complaint. The official IOC response is that he is disqualified for not following the IOC athlete expression guidelines. Heraskevych appealed this decision with CAS, who denied his application.
The Outcome…
Remembrance is not political, however, by denying the application, it has been made political. It is as if the IOC is saying that Ukrainian deaths are not to be remembered, as if the war in Ukraine is not happening. Each action is political, whether intended to or not. This can be seen in how they have allowed Taiwan to participate despite China’s requests and by who they choose to disqualify. The action of choosing who is allowed to qualify and who is represented, illustrates acceptance on a global scale, which is why the inclusion of Russia and Belarus in the Paralympics is causing such an uproar. No matter how many times the Olympics and Paralympics claim neutrality, their actions affect global audiences and reactions from global actors. It is with the cooperation and support of states that the Olympics and Paralympics are allowed to take place around the world with an audience of global scale. It is one of the few events that has this scale of influence and what they deem to be acceptable has consequences.