Despite protests from seven nations that will boycott the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games, two Russian athletes have been confirmed as flagbearers – but who are they?On Friday (6 March), athletes and officials from around the globe will attend the 2026 Winter Paralympics opening ceremony in northern Italy.Notably, for the first time since Sochi 2014, the Russian flag will be flown at an Olympic/Paralympic event.Russian athletes had been suspended from competing under their nation’s flag in subsequent Games due to state-sponsored doping, before the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine led to the nation being suspended by several global sporting bodies – including the IOC, UEFA and FIFA.However, due to a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), six Russian athletes will compete at the 2026 Winter Games.

Meanwhile, four Belarusians will also take part after Belarus was similarly suspended from competition due to its support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.The Russian and Belarusian athletes will compete in alpine skiing, cross-country skiing and snowboarding, sports which are not governed by the IPC.The individual governing bodies for the sports, including the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS), have not lifted their bans.However, Russia and Belarus are able to compete after winning an appeal at CAS against FIS’s stance in winter 2025.