Neutral athletes allowed to attend Winters closing ceremony

Neutral athletes allowed to attend closing ceremonyImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Nikita Filippov, from Russia, won a medal in the first ever Olympic men’s ski mountaineering event as an Individual Neutral AthleteByEmma SmithBBC Sport journalist in MilanPublished27 minutes agoIndividual Neutral Athletes (AIN) will be allowed to attend the closing ceremony of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, having not been present at the opening event.Athletes whose countries are barred from competing at the Games – such as Russia and Belarus, because of the invasion of Ukraine – have appeared at the 2026 Olympics as neutrals.They are barred from wearing national colours or displaying their nation’s flag, and do not appear on the official medal table.And they were not represented in the parade of nations either at the opening ceremony in Milan’s San Siro stadium, or at simultaneous events in Cortina and Livigno.However, athletes are traditionally not separated by nations at the closing ceremony and will instead enter the stadium in Verona as a group – meaning AIN competitors can attend.At Milan-Cortina, only one AIN has won a medal – Nikita Filippov, who claimed silver in the men’s ski mountaineering.Day-by-day guide to the Winter Olympics