Belarusian athletes at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy

The XXV Winter Olympic Games will be held in the Italian cities of Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo on 6-22 February 2026. This marks the fourth Olympic Games in Italy’s history, while Cortina d’Ampezzo last hosted the Winter Olympics 70 years ago.

Athletes from 92 countries have qualified for the premier winter sports event of the four-year cycle. Approximately 2,900 athletes are expected to participate in the competitions. For the first time at Winter Olympics, athletes from Benin, Guinea-Bissau, and the United Arab Emirates will compete. Venezuela, Kenya, Singapore, Uruguay, and South Africa will return after a break.

The official motto of the 2026 Olympics is IT’s Your Vibe. The mascots for the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games are stoats named Tina and Milo. The Games will open with a grand ceremony at the San Siro Stadium in Milan and close at the Verona Arena, an ancient amphitheater in Verona. Thirteen venues in four clusters (Milan, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Valtellina, Val di Fiemme) will stage the Olympic events. Medal ceremonies for athletes will take place at the famous Piazza del Duomo in the capital of Lombardy.

A record 116 sets of medals will be awarded, which is seven times more than at the previous Games. For the first time, ski mountaineering competitions have been included in the Olympic program. Athletes will compete in 16 disciplines: biathlon, bobsleigh, Alpine skiing, curling, speed skating, Nordic combined, cross-country skiing, ski jumping, luge, skeleton, ski mountaineering, snowboard, figure skating, freestyle skiing, ice hockey, and short track speed skating.

Belarusian athletes will participate in the Olympic Games in Italy as Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN) without a flag and an anthem. Such athletes are not permitted to take part in the Parade of Nations during the opening ceremony and will not receive an official ranking in the medal tables.

Following a meeting of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board in September 2025, it was announced that Belarusian athletes with Individual Neutral Athlete status who have qualified for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games will be able to compete under the same conditions as for Paris 2024. The opportunity for Belarusian athletes to compete was granted by the International Skating Union, the International Ski Mountaineering Federation, and the International Ski and Snowboard Federation following a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Belarusian athletes at the 2026 Winter Olympics

As of today, Alpine skier Maria Shkanova, speed skater Maryna Zuyeva, figure skater Viktoriia Safonova, cross-country skier Hanna Machakhina and freestyler Hanna Huskova have secured Olympic quotas.

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