As the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics officially get underway in Italy, viewers have noticed a recurring three-letter acronym on the broadcast leaderboards: AIN. While it may look like a new nation, AIN is a specific designation created by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to handle the participation of athletes from sanctioned countries.
What Does AIN Stand For?
AIN stands for Athlètes Individuels Neutres, which translates from French to Individual Neutral Athletes. French is one of the two official languages of the Olympic movement, alongside English, which is why the French acronym is used as the official IOC country code.
Why is AIN Being Used in 2026?
The designation is primarily used for athletes holding Russian or Belarusian passports. Following the ongoing invasion of Ukraine and previous violations of the Olympic Charter, the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) remains suspended. As a result, no formal “Russia” or “Belarus” teams are permitted to compete in the 2026 Winter Games.
However, the IOC has allowed a small number of individual athletes to compete if they meet strict eligibility criteria, including:
- No Active Support for the War: Athletes must not have expressed support for the invasion of Ukraine.
- No Military Affiliation: Athletes cannot be contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies.
- Doping Compliance: Athletes must meet all international anti-doping requirements.
Key Facts for the Milano Cortina Games
According to the latest reports as of 08 February 2026, the presence of AIN athletes is significantly smaller than in previous years:
- Participation Numbers: A total of 20 athletes are competing under the AIN banner in Milan and Cortina—consisting of 13 Russians and 7 Belarusians.
- No National Symbols: AIN athletes are prohibited from using their national flags, colours, or anthems. If an AIN athlete wins a gold medal, a neutral anthem produced by the IOC is played instead.
- Medal Table Exclusion: Medals won by AIN competitors are not displayed in the official national medal standings.
- Opening Ceremony: As individual neutral competitors, AIN athletes did not participate in the parade of nations during the Opening Ceremony on 06 February 2026.
How Does This Differ from ROC?
In previous Games, such as Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022, Russian athletes competed under the “ROC” (Russian Olympic Committee) acronym due to state-sponsored doping scandals. The shift to AIN represents a stricter level of neutrality; while ROC was still a “team” designation, AIN is strictly for “individuals,” meaning these athletes cannot compete in team sports like Ice Hockey or Curling.
As the Games continue through 22 February 2026, the AIN designation remains a point of international debate, balancing the rights of individual sportspeople against global political sanctions.