Update on potential participation of NPC Belarus and Russia at Milano Cortina 2026

In September 2025, the IPC General Assembly voted not to maintain the partial suspension of the National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) of Belarus and Russia, reinstating both NPCs’ full membership rights and privileges. This decision, amongst other things, means Para athletes from both countries are free to compete in the Paralympic Games, subject to their qualification for the Games in accordance with the rules of the relevant international federation.

The international federation for each sport on the Paralympic Games programme is responsible for determining the qualification pathway for its sport, as well as the eligibility of athletes to compete in those qualification pathway competitions. 

Following the IPC General Assembly’s decision, the IPC has received confirmation from each of the four international federations with sports on the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games programme – the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), International Biathlon Union (IBU), World Curling and World Para Ice Hockey – that, in practice, no athletes from the two nations are likely to qualify for March’s Games:

• Para alpine skiing, Para cross-country skiing and Para snowboard: The FIS Council voted on Tuesday (21 October) not to facilitate the participation of athletes from Belarus and Russia in its qualification events for Milano Cortina 2026.
• Para biathlon: IBU has confirmed that the Belarusian and Russian Biathlon Federations remain suspended from its competitions as per the IBU Congress decision of September 2022.
• Para ice hockey: While Russia can now compete in Para ice hockey competitions as a result of September’s IPC General Assembly decision, World Para Ice Hockey has confirmed that it is not possible in practice for the nation to qualify for March’s Games. Belarus does not currently have a Para ice hockey team competing at the international level.
• Wheelchair curling: In January 2025, World Curling announced it had extended the exclusion of Belarus and Russia from its competitions until the end of the 2024-2025 season. This means teams from both nations cannot qualify for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games.

Andrew Parsons, IPC President, said: “In the same way that the IPC fully respects the decision of the IPC General Assembly not to maintain the partial suspensions of NPC Belarus and NPC Russia, we also fully respect the decisions of each international federation regarding the sports they govern.

“The positions of FIS, IBU and World Curling currently mean that athletes and teams from Belarus and Russia cannot compete in their events, making it impossible for them to qualify for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games.

“While Belarus and Russia can now compete in Para ice hockey competitions, at this late stage of the qualification cycle, the six teams for November’s Paralympic Games Qualification Tournament have already been determined.

“With the positions of the four International Federations responsible for the six sports on the Paralympic Winter Games programme clear, I hope the focus will now be very much on the outstanding athletes and NPCs that will compete at Milano Cortina 2026 next March, as well as the tremendous transformational legacies the Paralympic Winter Games will create.”

The Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games will take place 6-15 March with 79 medal events being contested across six sports. The event will mark the 50^th anniversary of the Paralympic Winter Games, with the first edition having taken place in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden in 1976.