Belarusian Skier Hanna Machakhina Granted Neutral Status for the 2026/27 Season

Reform.news Editorial Team · 2 October 2026, 11:01

https://reform.news/en/belarusian-skier-hanna-machakhina-granted-neutral-status-for-the-2026-27-season/

The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) has published its first list of neutral athletes for the 2026/27 season.

Belarusian skier Hanna Machakhina and 19 athletes from Russia have been granted neutral status. She competed under the FIS flag at World Cup events last season.

In addition, neutral status was granted to Alexander Penigin, chairman of the Belarusian Freestyle Federation, and Alexander Nakonechnyi, coach of the national alpine skiing and snowboarding team.

FIS clarified that the published rules apply to all disciplines for athletes without disabilities. Different conditions apply to para-athletes. In December 2025, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ordered FIS to admit Belarusian and Russian para-athletes to competitions under the same conditions recommended by the International Paralympic Committee, without applying the Individual Neutral Athlete system.

After receiving notification of the CAS decision, FIS implemented it and publicly confirmed that Belarusian and Russian para-athletes may participate in federation competitions under the conditions recommended by the IPC, meaning they do not need to obtain neutral status.

These conditions remain in effect for Belarusian and Russian para-athletes participating in FIS competitions during the 2026/27 season.

The list of FIS neutral athletes will be updated.