Russian athletes will compete under the International Ski Federation (FIS) flag at the upcoming World Ski Championships run by the governing body, according to Russian Cross-Country Skiing Federation Elena Vyalbe.
Vyalbe added that the team would be known as “National athletes of Russia” at world championships, insidethegames.biz reported.
She told the Russian state news agency TASS these measures are set to apply to skiers, ski jumpers and Nordic combined athletes at the upcoming competitions.
“Of course, it also applies to jumpers and double athletes,” Dmitry Dubrovsky, president of the Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined Federation of Russia, told TASS.
“We will prepare a new uniform and overalls for the world championships.”
The FIS decision comes after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld sanctions imposed on Russia by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) last month.
The CAS halved the sanction period from four years to two.
All major competitions set to feature Russian teams must now regard them as neutral teams, separate from the “Russia” name.
This includes abbreviations, flags and names on uniform, with competitors being regarded as “neutral athletes” rather than part of an official Russian team.
This will apply at World Championship events, including the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships next month in Cortina d’Ampezzo, which are scheduled for February 9-21.
The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships are also set to take place next month, in Oberstdorf.
This month’s World Men’s Handball Championship in Egypt will mark the first time Russia will compete as a neutral since the nation’s flag and anthem were banned from major events.
Russian players will compete under the “Russian Handball Federation Team” moniker.
Critics of the CAS decision have complained that country’s name has not truly been banned if the word “Russia” can still appear on uniforms.