Alex Ovechkin won’t be in the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics. Some individual Russian athletes will. This is how the IOC defines ...

Though some individual Russian athletes may be allowed to compete as neutrals at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, the country’s hockey teams will be on the outside looking in at the action.

Olympics Close A player from the Czech Republic takes practice shots during a training session at the Bolshoy Ice Dome at the the 2014 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2014, in Sochi, Russia.