IOC upholds ban on Russian teams for 2026 Olympics

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced Tuesday that Russian teams will remain banned from the 2026 Winter Games in Milano Cortina.

Russian officials held talks with the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) about the ban with NHLers set to return to the Games for the first time since 2014. However, the IIHF will follow the IOC's rules.

"The IOC Executive Board recommendation from March 2023 with regard to teams of athletes with a Russian passport remains in place," the IOC said, according to Reuters. "It is based on the fact that, by definition, a group of Individual Neutral Athletes cannot be considered a team. We take note that the IIHF has confirmed that it will follow this recommendation."

Russian and Belarusian teams have been banned from IIHF events since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Select Russian and Belarusian athletes were permitted to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics, but did so without representing their flags and anthems.

Russia's men's hockey team won gold at the 2018 Olympics and silver in 2022.