Russia's ski federation has named its first squad for the cross-country World Cup openers — and Alexander Bolshunov is on it. The federation announced eight athletes on Monday for the season opener in Ruka, Finland (November 26-29), and the races in Trondheim, Norway, the following week. The catch: five of them, including the three-time Olympic champion, are still waiting for approval from the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS).
Three cleared, five waiting
Natalia Terenteva, Saveliy Korostelev and Alina Peklestova already hold Individual Neutral Athlete (AIN) status. Terenteva, formerly Natalia Nepryaeva, won the overall World Cup in 2022 and was cleared by FIS only last Friday.
Alongside Bolshunov, Olympic champion Veronika Stepanova, Alexander Terentev, Sergey Ardashev and Alena Baranova are still awaiting a decision. They will only be allowed to race in Finland and Norway if FIS grants them neutral status. According to reports, the Russian federation will hand out further World Cup places only after its national season-opening races on November 10-11.
Bolshunov as a test case for FIS
Bolshunov's case is the most sensitive. The 29-year-old is widely seen as the most contentious of the Russian applicants because of his close ties to state structures. Russian and Belarusian athletes have been barred from the World Cup since February 2022, and only through the AIN system have individual athletes gradually returned since last winter. The list of Russians approved by FIS has grown sharply in recent weeks, but several of the biggest names are still under review.
By formally entering him, Moscow has turned up the pressure. The federation has submitted its preferred line-up; now FIS has to decide whether one of the most successful distance skiers of the past decade will be on the start line in Ruka.
Pushback in Norway
The nominations have triggered debate above all in Norway, which hosts the second World Cup stop of the winter in Trondheim. Oslo mayor Anne Lindboe made her opposition clear, saying that as long as Russia continues its brutal war of aggression against Ukraine, Russian athletes have no place on the start line at Holmenkollen. Ukrainians, she added, are fighting "every single day" for their country and their freedom.
Cross-CountryVisa wall before Ruka: Finland moves to shut out Russian skiersNorwegian commentator Jan Petter Saltvedt pushed back, pointing out that several Russian skiers raced at Holmenkollen last winter without any objections, and that Norway is part of an international community that has already taken formal decisions on the issue.
The question is just as live in Sweden. Last week the Swedish ski federation suggested that Russian athletes should be denied visas for the Nordic World Ski Championships in Falun — a move that runs counter to the FIS neutrality framework and, according to media reports, could even put Sweden's hosting rights at risk.
The ball is now in FIS's court. With the first race in Ruka on November 26, the federation has just over a month to rule on the five outstanding cases — Bolshunov's above all.
